Ever In Your Favour
by liz-loz
Summary: Just one year before his 18th birthday, Sam Evans is chosen to become the male tribute for District 12 in the 74th Hunger Games. How will he fare and what will happen to the people he faces? Rated M for violence
1. The Falling Of The Sky

_Well hi-dee-hi!_

_I definitely shouldn't be writing this fic what with all the 545435 other fics I have going atm AND my busy life, buuuut I just finished reading the first Hunger Games book and it stuck into my brain so much that I couldn't resist doing this._

_I'm putting this as Blam just for a setion for it to go in but am not sure where it will take me, maybe friendship, maybe more or maybe enemies..._

_Enjoy! And please let me know what you think!_

_Liz xxx_

_P.S. I know that is the lamest title ever if anyone else has any better ideas hit me up_

* * *

**Chapter 1 - The Falling Of The Sky**

When I awoke the sky was dark outside. The wind blew strong against the house, rattling the windows and pounding at the doors, trying to get in. It was as if the weather knew. Hauling myself out of bed I rubbed my face with my hands, cursing how sore my eyes felt. I hadn't had much sleep last night. I suppose nobody did the day before the reaping.

* * *

Walking into the kitchen I saw mother already preparing breakfast. It was funny how no matter what was going on, whatever day it was or whatever was about to happen that could affect the course of our whole lives, she never seemed to waver from her set tasks. That could be because she had three hungry mouths to feed, but I liked to think it was determination.

"Good morning." I said, even though neither the weather, nor the day ahead reflected this. Mother smiled back at me, a somewhat forced smile, but one still etched with love, and looked back at the crackling stove.

"Will you check on Stevie and Stacey please?" She asked. I nodded, immediately walking through the kitchen and into the other bedroom. Our house was small, modest compared to most. A year or so ago we'd been forced to move and it had been a struggle to get used to. Mother had insisted that I get my own bedroom with me being nearly 18 and 'the man of the house' (an argument I had fought against considerably but never won) so she shared with my younger sister Stacey and even younger brother Stevie. Stevie was jumping about on the double bed as I entered, his 7 year old brain still too naïve to know anything about the significance of today. I ran forward and scooped him up, twirling him around in a circle so he screamed and wriggled against me, but with no intention of actually escaping.

"Jumping on the bed again?" I boomed in my mock angry voice. "You shall surely be punished for this!"

"Never!" Stevie replied, closing his fingers together so they were like blades and then pretending to chop at my arms.

"Argh! A weapon! I am defenceless against robot boy!" Pretending to be hurt by his cuts I slowly dropped to my knees, placing him back down on the bed and then falling to the floor, lying there, motionless.

"Hooray!" Stevie cried. "I win again!" Suddenly a loud sound made my eyes flash open. Stacey had pushed some books that were lying on the edge of her single bed onto the floor with a large crash. She shot to her feet and looked at me with seething rage.

"_Do you not know what day it is_?" She screamed with me. I bit my lip, immediately realising the seriousness of my error. "_People are going to DIE and you are playing GAMES about it?"_

"Sssh!" I hissed, pointing to Stevie, who had noticed our sister shouting but wasn't quite sure what it was about. "Keep it down."

"_Stevie_ might be too stupid to know, but you're not! You should be _ashamed_!" As she stalked past me into the kitchen and slammed the door I looked back at my little brother, whose lip had begun to tremble.

"Did Stacey call me stupid?" He asked, his voice wavering and tears forming in his eyes.

"Of course she didn't." I replied, scooping him up again but this time cradling him in my arms. "This is a bad day for her, for everyone."

* * *

We ate breakfast in silence. Stacey glowered at me the whole time – I supposed I deserved it. It probably hadn't been the best idea to play robot killers. But somebody had to lighten the situation, if not for Stevie's sake, but for ours too. Glancing over at mother I realised she hadn't really touched her food. For a long time she had had two children eligible for the reaping. The first time your name went in the bowl was on your 12th birthday – Stacey was 15 so had 10 slips now. I was nearly 18 so had 21 – with an extra 7 for Tesserae. The pain I saw on her face as each tribute was chosen was nothing I had ever experienced, as was the relief when she saw another two children go up instead of us. After next year, and until Stevie was eligible, that worry would thankfully be halved.

"Now you must wear your best clothes for the ceremony." She said after a while. The word 'reaping' was never mentioned at home, as well as the phrase 'The Hunger Games'.

"What? So we look nice and pretty for the Capitol?" Stacey snapped. Suddenly mother banged her fork on the table loudly. The movement surprised all of us, even Stacey, who was barely spooked by anything.

"We dress nicely for the ceremony so as to uphold the Evans name." Silence descended upon the room. The calm but stern tone Mother had spoken in left no room for a reply.

* * *

Twenty minutes later and breakfast had been cleared away. I retired to my bedroom and opened up the wardrobe, perusing the few outfits that hung within it. I normally wore the same few shirts and pants to school, but I had one suit for special occasions. Taking it off its hanger and wiping off the dust, I held it to my body and hoped it would still fit.

When I walked into the other bedroom again mother smiled.

"My goodness." She said, looking up from the pins she had been arranging in Stacey's dress. "Doesn't that suit fit you well now." Rising to her feet she walked over, adjusting the collar and staring at me with sad eyes.

"You look more and more like your father every day." She said, suddenly sounding emotional. "If only he were here to see it." I smiled, trying to hold back my own emotions, and then watched her slowly return to my sister, asking her to turn around and then continuing like nothing had happened.

* * *

The streets were bustling with people. Since nobody could afford cars everybody walked to the ceremony. It wasn't that far, but when you had young children and the thought of what would be there when you arrived, it could take a long time. We departed with an hour to go and walked along the road silently. Stacey immediately left us to join her friends in the Capitol Freedom movement, linking arms and walking proudly up front. Once of them handed her an armband and she snapped it defiantly onto her bicep. I wished she wouldn't flaunt her rebellion so openly – it risked her getting into trouble, or even worse, killed.

Ignoring my sister's stupid actions I focused on keeping my brother and mother in high spirits. As we walked I discussed what we would have for dinner that night – that I would cook it and it would be the best meal anyone had ever tasted.

"Even better than your roast lamb." I teased mother. A smile crept across her face. Of course I was lying – nothing could ever compare to her roast lamb. But we could never afford food like that anymore, so we would never fully know.

* * *

Seeing the crowds thicken and the noise grow I realised we were near the square now – when it came fully into view I was shocked once again by the amount of people that lived in district 12. With such an introverted lifestyle of school and chores, it sometimes made you forget that there were other families around – whole streets of people with their own lives and dreams. Ironically events like the reaping brought us all together, made us realise that we all existed, turned us into a unit.

As we reached the entrance gates I realised this was the point where I would leave mother and Stevie. I saw her trying to hold back as I picked my brother up and gave him a big hug.

"Why can't you stand with us Sam?" He asked, seeming confused and upset.

"All the big boys have to stand over here Stevie." I replied. Placing him back down on the ground and pressing a kiss to his forehead I turned to mother and tried to stop my own tears.

"Don't worry." I whispered as she wrapped her arms around me, pressing her fingers into my skin and breathing in my scent. "We've made it through so far. And after today only one more year left for me."

"Only one more year…" The words ghosted off mother's tongue, hovered in the air and then flew away with the wind. I held her gaze for a few seconds before finally breaking away and giving Stevie one final wave.

"See you later." I said cheerily. As he waved back I turned around and walked towards the boys pen.

* * *

It was rather barbaric the way we were identified and hustled into the huge holding pens. Though I suppose what we were gathered here for was pretty barbaric too. Struggling to fight through the crowds I searched for a face I recognised and then spied Mike Chang, a boy in my history class, from across the area. Calling out his name, I pushed through and then saw him acknowledge me with a smile.

"Hey." He said, no specific emotion in his voice.

"Nice weather for today isn't it?" I replied, pointing up at the swirling grey sky. Mike tilted his head upwards and then laughed.

"I think they knew." He answered. I'd never really accepted God into my life – the thought that someone could advocate such a cruel and unforgiving sport of death never processing in my mind – but Mike believed in several. I wasn't sure if it was a family thing, or if he used it just to get by, but I wasn't going to crush his dreams.

"Have you seen any nags anywhere?" I asked after a few seconds. Sometimes twisted members of the public made bets on who would be chosen, over who had the best or worst chance. Mike shook his head.

"No. But maybe somebody who actually _wants_ to be entered will be picked this year." Signalling to a boy about fifty metres from us I scoffed. _Brody Weston_. The biggest jerk in district 12 and also the stupidest. The past month or so he'd been bragging about how he _wanted_ to be picked for the games – that he'd begun to train and could beat anybody in a fight. As the Mayor's son he had the resources, and he'd certainly bulked up, but everyone thought he was an idiot.

"I hope he does, just to shut him up." I replied. Mike went to say something but suddenly the speakers crackled and everybody fell silent.

* * *

"Hello everybody." There was a pregnant pause, as if the announcer expected someone to reply, like we were still at school. When no sound came they continued. "Welcome to the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" Again the pause. Nobody applauded. The fact that this 'sport' had been going on for 74 years was nothing to celebrate. As the rules and regulations that we'd all heard a hundred times were explained I searched the girls pen for any sign of Stacey. I had no doubt she'd be near the front, wanting to shout something hurtful when the time came – I only hoped she had the sense to stay away from the guards. I became so caught up in my searching and thoughts that suddenly the crowd was silent again as a lady from the Capitol came up onto the stage. Effie, her name was. She seemed like an alien, pink hair, blue lipstick. I sometimes wondered why people dreamed of visiting the Capitol because to me it seemed like a scary place, filled with demonic people desperately clinging onto their youth. Effie tottered up to the front of the stage, her stupidly high heels making it a lengthy process, and then stood between two large round bowls.

"Happy Hunger Games!" She exclaimed. "And may the odds be ever in your favour!" Several boys around me groaned. We had all grown to hate that phrase, especially as there was nothing to be happy about where the Hunger Games were concerned. Although I did hope the odds were in my favour. And Stacey's.

"Ladies first!" Dipping her hand into the first glass bowl everyone held their breath. I suddenly felt my heart pounding in my chest, my fists clenched together, praying and praying that it wasn't Stacey…

* * *

"Tina Cohen-Chang." Immediately a scream rang out. A portion of the girls crowd was suddenly disturbed – people began to fall over and more shouts rang out. When the guards had to intervene and started pushing through the masses I realised Tina was trying to escape. Her hands flailed wildly as she bashed through the mob, the endless scream wailing from her mouth as she struggled to stay upright. Eventually one of the guards caught up with her and fastened his arm around her waist – she immediately began kicking and thrashing, injuring some surrounding people in the process. The guard was joined by two friends and slowly they dragged her towards the stage. Tina fought every step of the way, the same cry of

"NO!" spiralling from her mouth with every second. As she was finally hoisted onto the stage her face was displayed on the huge screens either side – the expression of pure, unadulterated fear. Suddenly I realised the significance of this girl. Turning to my left I saw Mike's face as white as a sheet. Tina Cohen-Chang was his girlfriend. His whole body had frozen, motionless, almost as dead as his lover was now sure to be. My heart dropped, wanting to offer some condolence but knowing it would have no effect. I would have felt the same if it were Stacey.

Stacey.

She was safe. My eyes now scanned the group for her. Had she said anything? The area around me was now deathly silent thanks to Mike, so I could get a good indication of where the noise was coming from. Tina was still screaming but apart from that only hushed whispers could be heard everywhere else.

"Thank you Tina." Effie said, trying desperately to ignore the pandemonium happening right beside her. "Now, would anybody like to offer up as tribute for this girl?" Suddenly the whole place went silent again. It was extremely rare for anyone to offer themselves up for the games – not when taking part normally meant certain death. I looked across at Mike again and saw him still staring straight forward. It was not allowed for boys to nominate themselves for girls – he was powerless. Tina had no sisters, or anyone willing to risk her life for her, so she was left to scream and scream and scream on the stage. I suddenly found myself wondering what Stevie would make of all of this – if he would be hiding under mother's coat snivelling and shaking. Thankfully somebody finally had the sense to put something under Tina's nose that knocked her out and the square was now silent again, ready for the boys choice.

* * *

The boys. Suddenly it dawned on me that we still had a name to go. Someone else whose life was now to be ruined, and the life of their family. How could the Capitol condone this? The destruction of innocent people – all for _one_ mistake they made 74 years ago? It was undeniably cruel – even more proof that the people who designed it could not be human.

"Ok…" Effie said, trying to shake off the stigma of Tina's meltdown. It would have been a good show for the cameras, but surely set her out as a weak opponent. "Now for the boys…" Dipping her hand into the boys bowl I held my breath again – for some reason not praying for it not to be me, but just for the moment to be over – another year to pass so we could begin to rebuild and fight on until the next one. Effie drew out the slip and I closed my eyes, beginning to prepare how I would cook the dinner I had planned, what seasoning I would use on it and how long it would have to stand…

"Sam Evans."

* * *

Instantly the world froze. For a second I wondered if I had just died on the spot. Everything seemed to stop – like I had been transformed straight into a ghost. Everyone was looking through me, their eyes wide with shock, until I realised they weren't looking _through_ me. They were looking _at_ me.

"Sam Evans?" Effie said my name again, her voice sounding a little nervous. I hadn't caused the stir Tina had so it hadn't been as easy to identify me. When more people turned to look in my direction however it became obvious. I didn't bother to look at Mike – I figured he had had enough shock for one day to have to cope with looking at me, so just stared straight forward again, my eyes focused on the screen. It was _my name_. I was the boy tribute.

* * *

Suddenly a small commotion arose. The guards, having found my location, were beginning to push through the group towards me – obviously fearing another freak out. Immediately I raised my hands in the air, acting surprisingly calm considering the tirade of emotions that were currently cascading through my brain.

"It's ok, it's ok – I'm coming!" I said. Several people around me gasped. It was unusual for a tribute to be so calm, almost sarcastic. I couldn't believe it myself. Stepping forward I noticed people moving out of the way, creating a path to the stage. My feet felt like lead but I forced them forward, trying to stay calm but beginning to lose it. As I passed the girls pen I suddenly found myself locking eyes with Stacey. All this time spent looking for her and I found her at the worst time. Her eyes seemed dead like Mike's – there was no rebellion in then now.

* * *

I realised I still had my hands in the air when I got to the stage so lowered them slowly. I climbed the wooden steps – higher than they looked from a distance, and then turned to face the crowd when I was in position. My goodness there were a lot of people. Out of all the people, all the names entered time and time again, _I_ had been chosen.

"Mr Evans." Effie said excitedly, holding out her hand. I made no effort to move, not even looking in her direction, so she quickly took hold of my hand and made it look like we were greeting each other. "Congratulations!" A small sound came from my lips. I wasn't sure if it was a snort, or me finally breathing again, but Effie paused and then ignored it.

"Thank you Sam. Now, would anybody like to offer up as tribute for this boy?" Suddenly my brain whirred again. The offering. Immediately my eyes tracked to Mike. Maybe he would offer to be with Tina – to protect her. It was a slim chance, and nothing came of it. Then abruptly I remembered the other person, the boy Mike and I had been talking about before. Several other people looked in the same direction, towards the talk of the town. Brody Weston – the boy who wanted to take part in the Hunger Games – who had bragged and bragged until the sun came down. Suddenly silent. He had no intention of volunteering. He was just as much a coward as everyone else.

Turning my eyes away in disgust I looked towards the sad, slumped body of Tina. It seemed a horrific thing to think, but at this point she didn't seem like much competition. I was now in a game – a game where fighting for survival was second nature. I was going to become a killer.

"Well that's settled then! Ladies and Gentleman of District 12, I present to you our two tributes for the 74th Hunger Games – Tina Cohen-Chang and Sam Evans!"


	2. The Flash Of The Cameras

_I have kind of fudged the order/details of some of these events leading uo to the games, A - because I want to keep it interesting and B - because I don't want it to just be a rehash of the actual book. So I know things are slightly different! Some of the HG characters are introduced here but we wont hear any more about the other tributes until chapter 4._

_Thanks for the support so far_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 2 - The Flash Of Cameras**

As soon as we were hustled off the stage I was thrown into a sea of disruption. Suddenly I was the centre of attention – people were pulling me this way and that way, asking me questions, telling me things that I couldn't understand or process. It took all my courage to place each foot forwards until I reached the car that would take me to the station. Tina had to be loaded in before me so I stopped by the door and looked around to see tens of faces, all gawping at me.

"Wow. They made a splash this year."

"That girl won't make it past the first ten minutes."

"The boy looks better though."

"When will I get to see my family?" The words suddenly came out of my mouth. I tried to remember the last thing I had said before this moment, but my brain couldn't think back that far. The people around me suddenly stopped talking and looked at me with shocked eyes.

"Get in the car please." Another voice sounded beside me, this time one of the guards. I went to speak again but he pushed my head down and forced me into the back seat.

* * *

Once I was inside he buckled my seatbelt – something I was perfectly capable of doing but figured was best not to try and stop. As the door was shut I looked forward to see a driver and asked him the same question.

"When will I get to see my family?"

"It's best if you don't ask questions now boy-" The driver replied, not even remembering my name.

"-When will I get to see my family?"

"I can't answer tha-"

"_When will I get to see my family_?" Tina lay slumped beside me – I wished she were awake to try and help. The driver seemed to be getting a little irate with me, to be honest I was being dramatic but I couldn't stop the words from spilling out of my mouth. Thankfully though another guard got into the front seat and shut us both up.

"Quiet you lot. Everything will be answered on the train."

As the engine started up I sat back in my seat, satisfied for the moment, but still not quite back in reality. Had this all really happened? We began to move away and I looked at the back of the stage. I'd never seen it from this angle – I suppose nobody really wanted to either. What was going on behind it now? What were people saying? What was my _mother_ saying? To my horror I realised I hadn't even seen her reaction to my selection. I had seen Stacey's of course – that alone was enough to make me sick. I couldn't imagine what the sight of mother would have brought on.

Tina stirred in her seat beside me. I went to place a comforting hand on her hair and suddenly wondered if we were being watched right now. Cameras had captured my every moment during the reaping – every breath, every potential tear – but I'd managed to keep it together. Maybe now they were tracking my breakdown to the station. I wouldn't let it show. I wouldn't let them see what this moment meant to me. That my certain death was now imminent in the space of a few weeks. I would stay strong. Placing my hovering hand on the top of Tina's head I stroked her hair gently and stared forward, gritting my teeth and showing that I would not back down.

* * *

When we arrived at the station the amount of people was shocking. There were almost as many as at the reaping. I was a little scared to leave the car, but once we stopped was hoisted out by another guard and pushed towards the station entrance. People were shouting and screaming my name. I felt rough hands pawing at my arms and clothes, pushed away by the angry guards but still visible in my peripheral vision.

"Sam how do you feel?"

"Sam are you scared?"

"Good luck Sam!" I stared straight forward, not responding to any of their words. Once we entered the building the hubbub died down but I could still hear the noise of the frantic people outside. It was like we were celebrities now. We _were_ celebrities.

Remembering the words of the guard in the car I turned to him as we were lead forward towards some huge steps.

"Will I get to see my family now?" The guard looked at me like I was annoying him – a stupid boy with insignificant questions – but he nodded his head sharply.

"Yes."

* * *

We were lead up the steps to two small rooms and I was pushed into one of them, Tina the other. She had begun to regain full consciousness now and when we were separated suddenly clung onto my hand and began to fight – as if I were the last hope she had. I shook my head and tried to comfort her but eventually we were wrenched apart and I heard the sound of her wailing through the door.

As the door shut behind me I surveyed the room. Small and sparsely furnished – this room looked like it was designed only for the reunion of families and friends before the Games. There was only a small wooden bench situated on one side and the windows were locked and barred. I walked over and peered through it to understand why. They didn't want us to jump.

* * *

Suddenly the door opened. I jumped out of my skin and spun around, only to come face to face with Mother, Stevie and Stacey. Stevie immediately jumped out of Mother's arms and rushed over, throwing his arms around me and clinging on tight as I pressed my face to his shoulder.

"Sammy!" He cried, sounding like he had no idea what was going on. I felt tears prick in my eyes but forced them to stay away, I didn't want to show any weakness to the cameras later.

"Stevie it's ok, I'm here." I babbled softly in reply, stroking my brother's back and wishing it was in fact, ok. Stevie held onto me for a considerable time before finally letting me go and looking into my eyes. He seemed like he had been crying and a crust of snot had formed around his nose. I laughed and brushed it away with the edge of my sleeve.

"You don't need to cry." I said comfortingly.

"Why did they take you?" He asked. The words stabbed in my heart but I ignored the pain.

"I'm going to play a big boy game." I said, trying to reign in my emotions as I spoke. "I'll be back soon." The words suddenly sent a large sob spilling out of Mother's mouth – immediately I put down Stevie and walked over to her. Whatever act she'd been trying to put on for her children had now disappeared – she looked tired and devastated. Wrapping my arms round her I let her cry into my shoulder whilst desperately biting my own lip to stop the tears from flowing. When the sobbing had finally stopped Mother clutched hold of my hands and squeezed them tight.

"You have to fight." She said, her whole body shaking as she spoke. "Even if you don't want to, you have to fight. You have to survive."

"I will mother," I replied, not knowing if what she was saying was actually possible or not, given the situation, "I promise you I will." Feeling her begin to sob again I held her close and then looked over my shoulder to see the hollow shell of Stacey staring back at me.

* * *

Her eyes were sunken and her hair seemed to have turned a couple of shades darker. Her posture was slumped in defeat and she looked on the verge of collapse. Suddenly worried I patted mother's shoulder and got her to stand aside. Walking over I watched as my sister made no attempt to say anything – show any other emotion other than dead despair.

"Stacey?" I asked, not sure of how to phrase the question. Stacey didn't reply, still frozen in her zombie-like state. What had happened to the girl that fought? The girl that had no fear. A small part of me had always thought that Stacey would fare well in the arena, that her intelligence and determination would carry her through, Now I realised that, like Brody Weston, it had all been an act. She was as terrified of the Games as I was.

"Stacey it's going to be ok." I whispered. Closing my arms around her cold body, I felt like I was hugging a corpse. "I'll do this for you, for everyone in District 12. I'll make it through." Suddenly hands gripped around me. Stacey didn't say anything but she didn't need to – the fierceness of her hold was enough.

"I love you too." I whispered, loud enough so only she would hear. "I love you all." I said as we finally broke away. Stacey still gripped tightly onto my hand and I didn't let go, didn't want to. Mother had gathered Stevie in her arms again and they were both looking at me like it would be the last time we would meet.

"Don't worry, you'll see me every day, on TV." I tried to joke, but the words sounded hollow and meaningless. Silence descended across the room and the suddenly the doors opened again.

"Time's up." As if the words of the guard had suddenly triggered something inside of her, Stacey suddenly clung to me again her voice creating short sharp sounds.

"No!" She cried "No! You can't take him! SAM!" As the guard began to wrestle with her I pushed him aside, hissing, then procuring her hands gently from my arms as she wailed and screamed, rather like Tina had.

"Ssssh, Stacey." I said, trying to calm her down, but also trying to stop the rage of anger that had begun to course through me over seeing her like this. My strong, defiant sister reduced to a quivering wreck through something none of us had control over. "I love you Stacey, I love you…" When her hands were free the guard took hold of her. Stacey began to kick and bite but I smiled weakly at her like nothing was happening.

"I'll see you soon Stacey." I said, lifting my hand up. "And Stevie, and Mother."

"I'm sorry!" Stacey wailed as she was dragged out of the door, mother giving my hand one final squeeze as she passed me behind her. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

* * *

The door clanged shut and I suddenly found myself standing alone in the cold, small room. For a second, it was like everything had frozen again like at the reaping. Then, without warning, huge silent sobs began to overcome me. It was like someone had cut off my air circulation – I dropped to the floor and grabbed hold of my neck, my throat suddenly closing as I gasped for breath. When that didn't work I fell to my hands and knees and scraped my nails along the hard stone floor, still unable to make any sound. My heart seemed to pump inside my head – my insides screaming but my mouth producing only hyperventilating gasps. Then, for the first time in a while, my body finally gave into what I was feeling and I passed out on the floor.

* * *

I didn't have any more visitors. I had possibly expected Mike to come, but he was probably too preoccupied with Tina to really care about me. I didn't mind. My family had been the only ones I had cared about and anyone that had come would only have seen me passed out on the floor anyway. Thankfully I was awoken by the sound of the door opening by the guards – they simply thought I had fallen to the floor in anguish and my moment of weakness was kept secret.

* * *

As I was herded towards the train I saw Tina in even more of a worse state than before. She had had to be knocked out again and her body looked wrecked from all the exhaustion of fighting. Three guards were carrying her and none of them looked too happy about doing it. I was amazed I hadn't heard any of her encounters with family or friends and then realised I had either been too out of it to notice, or the closing of the doors had brought upon some amazing soundproofing, designed to keep the tributes unaware of their partners grief.

When we reached the carriage I realised that with Tina unconscious it would be up to me to lead the press angle. Of course the sight of my friends limp and lifeless body would bring in viewers and cause scandal, but the people wanted to see a walking, talking tribute. Well – I didn't plan on doing much of the latter but I would smile and wave and act like this was nothing out of the ordinary. As I approached the crowds again I ignored the flurry of similar questions to the ones I had received before outside of the building.

"Are you scared Sam?"

"How long do you think you are going to last?"

"What was it like to see your family for the last time?" That one cut deep. I shot the reporter an angry glare, before being hustled into the carriage and having the door shut behind me. I knew that face would probably be on the cover of hundreds of newspapers – 'Tribute Sam's angry temper' – but I didn't care. They could talk about me all they wanted, but they had no right to involve my family.

* * *

Once we had walked down the hallway of the carriage I realised this structure was much bigger than it looked on TV. The train to the Capitol only came in on special occasions, and though people craned their necks to see what was inside the inner parts of it had never been discovered. Now I was here.


	3. The Clink Of Cutlery

**Chapter 3 - The Clink Of Cutlery**

Following the main guard into the first room, the sound of Tina being lugged behind me travelling as we went, I entered a large dining room and gasped. There was a table filled with more food than I had ever seen in my life. Grapes, strawberries, carrots, green beans, roasted pig, duck, beef, boards full of cheese and breads that sent a warm comforting scent wafting into my nostrils. For a second I wondered if I had fallen straight into a dream, but then another step forward and a hand reaching out to touch the table told me it was real.

"Hello Tributes!" Suddenly a voice brought me to my senses. I jumped and then turned around to see Effie entering the room.

"Greetings Sam!" She said enthusiastically, looking at me, "Greetings…oh." Her voice dropped as she took in the sight of a passed out Tina again. "Is she _really_ going to do this for much longer?"

"I hope not, she's freakin heavy." One of the guards replied gruffly. The other two laughed and I suddenly felt annoyance come over me. Tina had been through a lot – it wasn't surprising she was finding it hard to hold on.

"Let go of her." I said, walking over and pushing one of the guards aside. "I'll take her."

"Oh! How _manly_!" Effie replied, obviously impressed by my show of kindness. The guards shrugged their shoulders and let Tina's feet drop to the floor with a thump. I realised how heavy her dead weight actually was but tried not to show it, hoisting her up by her armpits and then dragging her towards one of the nearest chairs.

"And strong too!" Effie definitely seemed enthralled by my actions, but made no effort to help me. I managed to get Tina to the chair and then dumped her onto it, pushing her up so she was sitting and then rearranging her so it simply looked like she'd taken a nap after a long lunch.

"My my! We have the makings of a tribute here!" Effie squealed, clapping her hands together and looking at me excitedly. I wanted to point out that being kind definitely wasn't a good quality to have in a person that was supposed to be able to brutally murder 23 other people, but decided to keep my mouth shut given the slight advantage I had now gained. There I went again. Already I viewed Tina as my competition.

* * *

Sitting myself down in the seat next to Tina I glanced over at her briefly to check she was still ok. When I looked back forward I saw Effie staring at me with dreamy eyes.

"Do we have some secret feelings here?" She asked wistfully. Oh great. She thought my deep love for Tina had forced me to step in for her.

"Oh no." I replied quickly, but not derogatively incase my friend had begun to come round again. "We're just friends. Her boyfriend is in my history class." Immediately Effie's face fell. She sat back upright and began busying herself with a plate, obviously un-amused by my less than interesting reply.

"Do have something to eat." She said after a while, flicking her eyes up to me before bringing them down quickly again.

* * *

As my eyes perused the food I wondered what on earth to have first. There was so much to choose from and my stomach growled so loudly I just wanted to grab it all and shove it into my mouth. But I moved carefully, slowly, scanning all the different dishes until one caught my eye.

"Ah, roast lamb, my favourite!" Effie said as I dished out the meat. I looked up at her to see her excited eyes again and realised my small misgiving from before must have been forgiving.

"Yes." I replied, reaching for the mint sauce that was placed nearby. "My mother always used to make it for us." The mention of mother sent a stab of pain through my heart but I ignored it. I had to keep my family with me at all times, and this was the best way of doing it.

"How quaint." Effie replied as I finished with the sauce and looked for carrots. I thought maybe the smell of food would wake Tina up so dished out some for her too.

* * *

Eventually she did arouse, when my second plate of food was almost finished.

"What…Mike…Dad…?" She mumbled as she came to. I placed a hand on hers and as her eyes opened she looked at me in confusion. "Sam?"

"Yes, your knight in shining armour is here!" Effie exclaimed loudly. The shout made Tina jump, our connected hands hitting the underside of the table so we let out a yelp of pain and I laughed lightly. When Tina realised where she was she immediately removed her hand from mine and stared round.

"Where are we? Where are we going?"

"You are in the train to the Capitol." Effie said cheerily, picking up a knife and beginning to peel a rather large piece of mango. "Which is taking you to glory!"

"I want to go home." Tina said. For a second I wondered if she was about to have another freak out, so held my hand out warily.

"Oh, it's a little too late for that now darling." Effie replied again, still looking at her mango so the growing worry over Tina's actions hadn't reached her yet. "Once you are picked, you are picked! Destiny awaits!"

"But I don't WANT to be picked!" Hands slammed against the table as Tina jumped to her feet. Effie was startled and the knife she was holding slipped and cut her finger. "This is NOT my destiny!" I rose upwards, desperately trying to calm my friend down, and also Effie, who ironically didn't seem to have a high tolerance for blood.

"Can I get a tissue?" She asked in a panicked voice. The clear ignorance of her words made Tina even more angry.

"ARE YOU EVEN _LISTENING_ TO ME! I WANT TO _GO HOME_!" Suddenly I realised what would happen if I didn't act. Rushing over to Effie I picked her up out of her seat and pushed her towards the door.

"Get out!" I hissed. For a second she didn't seem to register my direction but then I pushed her again and she finally followed. When the door was closed I ran back over to Tina and gripped hold of her shoulders, bringing my face close to hers.

"Just STOP!"

* * *

My shout made Tina freeze. For once she halted her crying and listened. "You need to stop. If you carry on like this you might as well just kill yourself right now." Tina's eyes suddenly looked towards the knife on the table, pondering my suggestion. My hand darted out to grab the blade just before she did and flung it across the room, much to her annoyance.

"No! You are NOT going to give up! Think of all the people you will disappoint! In District 12! Think about Mike!" So far nothing had been getting through to my friend, but when she heard Mike's name she immediately halted.

"Mike?"

"Yes! Mike! You saw him in the holding room didn't you?" Tina nodded her head slowly. Her sudden transformation from angry teenager to scared little girl was a little shocking.

"And what did he say?"

"That I have to stay alive." Tina's mumbled replies were beginning to give way to more tears.

"Exactly. And going round shouting and screaming at people isn't going to do that. We are _trapped_. There is nothing we can do about that. And there is no going back. If we want to survive what we have to do now is fight. _Together_." I knew my last word had been a lie – if we wanted to survive then we would ultimately have to kill the person standing in front of us. But right now I thought it was best to act as a team, to stand together against the force we hated most.

"Do you understand?" Slowly Tina nodded. A huge sigh escaped from my lips as I realised I had finally gotten through to her.

Sitting down on my chair again I signalled to the now cold plate of food I had set out for her.

"You need to eat. All your fighting before has used up your energy." Surprisingly Tina didn't fight this time. Silently she walked over to her chair, drew it closer to the table and began to eat. I knew she needed a knife but still didn't give her one just yet out of precaution.

* * *

Half an hour later Tina finally finished her food. I could tell she was happier now she had something in her stomach but still not entirely settled. Effie had not returned since I had ordered her out of the room and I couldn't tell if this was due to fear or simply repulsion over our state. I had to admit, we hadn't exactly sold ourselves over the past half a day or so. Tina had to be subdued and I just glared at reporters when I walked past. If we were to be considered at all for these Games we would have to buck our ideas up.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked Tina. For a while we had sat in silence so the sound of my voice surprised her.

"…Yes." She said after a short pause. I didn't provoke any further conversation but then she turned to me, a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry." She suddenly said. The phrase caught me off guard, especially when it reminded me of the words my sister had screamed at me just hours earlier. "That you have to put up with this. _Me_."

"Oh don't worry." I replied, trying to hide my emotions with chagrin. "I want to be here just as little as you do."

* * *

Suddenly the door crashed open. For a second I thought it was Effie, so sat up straight and prepared to apologise, but then a taller, rounder and less stable figure staggered through the door. It was hard to tell at first through the long locks of straggly hair that covered the top half of his face, as well as the rough beard that grew over the rest of it, but then it became clear.

"Haymitch?" I asked. Immediately the figure laughed, taking a few more steps forward so a large wine bottle became visible in his left hand.

"Greetings!" He bellowed, possibly imitating Effie from before, or just being strange. "Greetings fellow tributes!" I suddenly felt a hand slip into mine. Tina looked at me with scared eyes, but I simply shook my head and gave her a look to stay calm.

"Well aren't you going to say hello?" Now having made his way over to the nearest chair Haymitch sat down on it ungracefully. The wine bottle he was holding hit the side of the table and was then placed on top of it. With his hands free he wiped away some of the hair covering his eyes and looked at the two of us.

"Come on!"

"Hello." I replied, eager to get this conversation over with. Haymitch was the only other surviving tribute from District 12 – the winner of the 50th Hunger Games. He was getting old and a life under the terror of the Capitol after outsmarting them during his win had made him a drunk and a tramp.

"Ah!" The older man reached out to grab a chicken leg. Tina flinched slightly but I squeezed her hand and forced her to stay still. "You must be Sam. The one all the _ladies_ are talking about." He let out a strange laugh and I tried to laugh too but failed. "And you!" Suddenly he pointed at Tina, finding her even more amusing than me. "Miss wailer! You _really_ didn't want to be chosen did you?"

"Hey." I replied, now gaining a little more confidence. Haymitch didn't seem dangerous, just drunk, and the way he was talking to Tina was making her upset again. "You don't have to bring that up."

"Of _course _I do! You're the talk of the town! The centre of the news! Get ready for the best last days of your lives!" Suddenly my anger made me lash out. Grabbing hold of the chicken wing Haymitch had been devouring I flung it across the room, the sound of it thunking against the wall reverberating around the room.

"Stop it!" I yelled. "Do you think this is _helping_ us? You're supposed to be _teaching us how to survive_ – not telling us we're going to _die_!" For a second Haymitch stood there, motionless. The hand that had been holding the chicken leg still hovered in the air, fingers closed around the imaginary bone. Then, he smiled.

"Looks like we don't have two complete idiots this year." He said with a grin. "Although…" As his eyes glanced at Tina again I went to say something but Effie abruptly entered the room once more and all conversation was stopped. She seemed to have a small plaster wrapped around her finger and looked at little apprehensive coming back inside.

"Ah! Haymitch, there you are!" She exclaimed, walking forward a few steps before noticing his appearance and then stopping quickly. "Oh…um…" She struggled for words but then found me again. "Sam, I see you and Tina are…" Her eyes scanned over my friend, still that dart of nervousness over her previous displays "…better."

"Of course they are. The girl can finally sit still without having to be knocked out!" Shaking her head Effie came to sit down with us again. Her original seat had been taken by Haymitch so she instead chose one by the window, something she used to her advantage.

* * *

"So…" She began, obviously trying to act like nothing had happened and this was simply a normal train journey. "Apparently there's quite a commotion down at District 12."

"There is?" I asked, suddenly intrigued. The thought of Stacey briefly popped into my mind, but I pushed it away quickly.

"Yes." Effie replied. Her posture suddenly improved and she leant forward as if she were about to tell us a juicy piece of gossip. "Apparently they've set upon each other. Some poor boy is being lynched."

"Lynched?" Now Tina had joined in – I could see the concern written across her face too and could only guess she was thinking of Mike.

"Indeed. Brady his name was…or Bridie, I couldn't tell…"

"Brody." I immediately replied. "Brody Weston." So his cowardice at the reaping hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Oh, do you know him?" Effie seemed surprised, and intrigued.

"Yes. We went to school together." I replied.

"Well, he's certainly getting a beating now. All the younger kids turned against him for some reason. It does sadden me when they turn to violence…" A scoff similar to the one I uttered during the reaping flew from my mouth. How could she say that? How could she say that with what was happening under her nose right now?

"Would you listen to yourself?" Suddenly Haymitch spoke out. I had tried to block him from my view, so was surprised, especially by his words. "The Capitol _live_ for violence – it's what funds these whole goddamn games! If it wasn't for violence _you_ wouldn't have a job!" Stunned silence fell across the room. Effie looked shocked, as if she had suddenly been called out on something big. She had. As I glanced over at Haymitch I saw him give me a knowing look. Something inside him was still on our side, underneath the booze and the depression and despair. I saw it in that moment.

"Well, we can't be dwelling on the negative things in this life can we?" Effie replied hurriedly, not doing herself any favours. I smiled, wiping my face with my napkin and then placing it on the table.

"I think Tina and I have finished eating now." I said, speaking mainly to Effie but flicking a smile across to Haymitch. "Can we retire?"

"Well of course you can." The pink haired lady replied. Rising slowly to my feet and still holding onto Tina's hand, we walked slowly out of the room and into the corridor.


	4. The Skyscrapers Of The Capitol

**Chapter 4 - The Skyscrapers Of The Capitol**

As I sat on the bed staring out at the countryside rushing past I finally had peace for the first time in days. Even before the reaping I'd had the stress of the build up – wondering how it would affect mother, what stupid things Stacey would try and do to show her rebellion against the system. The last time I'd been properly at peace had been 6 days ago. The lights had gone out so I'd been sent to go and get some candles – when we didn't have any I'd begun to walk to the nearest shop and had found myself climbing up one of the hills by the coal mines. When I reached the top I'd just sat and stared out at the vast blackness in front of me. With no light it was hard to see how far District 12 stretched, how far the roads wound across the landscape. Up here I could pretend I was the only person in the world. I'd closed my eyes, taken a few deep breaths, and listened to the silence.

Now I had silence, but it was an eerie silence. Everything the Capitol touched was creepily soundproofed, but I had a feeling someone was listening to every word that was being said. Tina had gone to her own room – I'd checked it for anything sharp but she had scowled and said she wasn't a child. It was good to see her finally back, I had seen her around school a few times with Mike and she seemed like a fun, loving girl. Yet another innocent soul that the Games would crush.

* * *

Suddenly I heard the sound of a train track clicking – we were transferring to the Capitol rail. Rising to my feet I walked over to the window and then saw the towering structures of the buildings ahead. I had never seen anything so huge. My hill seemed like an anthill compared to this. Feeling a strange excitement rise in my gut I ran back into Tina's room and saw her doing the exact same thing.

"Isn't it amazing?" She asked, smiling for the first time in a long while. I nodded, moving to join her and we watched the magical city slowly draw nearer to us.

* * *

As soon as the train stopped it was back to the hustle and bustle of showbiz. Tina and I were escorted through the crowds (these ones hundreds times bigger than the ones that had greeted us outside the District 12 station) like celebrities and then lead into one of the huge towering buildings I had admired upon our arrival. Once we were inside several more scary looking Capitol residents greeted us and gave the instructions that would mark out the rest of our day.

"Welcome tributes!" They exclaimed, obviously not having learnt our names like Effie and Haymitch had. I found myself strangely missing the presence of our two 'mentors' – they had been hustled off to somewhere else and I gathered we would not be meeting again for some time.

"Congratulations on your selection," again with the congratulations. I was pretty sure these idiots would not be so cheerful if they had been selected to fight to the death against 23 other people, "and greetings from the Capitol." Well at least we could agree on that one. We had certainly been greeted. When I had stepped out of the train I had noticed my face on a huge towering screen erected on the side of yet another gigantic building, and thankfully I hadn't looked tired or scared. Just amazed.

"You will now be taken to meet your stylists and to prepare for the presentation ceremony this evening." Oh yes, I had forgotten about this part. All tributes before being forced to kill each other had to be subjected to the trials and tribulations of beautification. Each girl or boy was given a stylist and it was their job to work wonders and make their tribute presentable for the opening presentation ceremony. It was customary viewing in Panem so pretty much everyone I knew would be watching. And everyone I didn't. Whilst some of the tributes already had a good beauty regime, and some of the girls didn't mind being improved aesthetically, the thought of being prodded and poked wasn't exactly my idea of heaven. However, when I was taken away from Tina and lead downstairs to an underground room filled with strange looking women with aprons on, my apprehension turned to straight out fear.

"Don't worry my pretty." One of the ladies said, her face contorted by too much plastic surgery and her skin and eerie blue colour. "We will sort you out in no time." I closed my eyes and hoped to be alive when I resurfaced.

* * *

When I opened my eyes I found my lungs were still working. My pupils adjusted to the light and then I realised I was in a brightly lit room with metal walls. I tried to move but found I was strapped to a table, thick metal buckles securing me in place. I was about to begin struggling, when a door I hadn't even noticed opened and a man strode in. I couldn't tell if he was tall or not from the angle I was looking from, but he had dark skin and a curly mop of black hair. More importantly though – he looked human.

"Are you my stylist?" I asked, more hopeful than questioning. The thought of one of those alien ladies deciding upon my outfits was more than I could bear.

"Yes." The man replied, much to my surprise. As he walked over I saw him survey my body – not in a leering way, but simply admiring whatever had been done to it. I couldn't lift my head far up enough to see, but my legs and arms felt tingly and sore like they had been waxed.

"Those ladies certainly worked their magic." He said with a smile.

"What, you mean the aliens?" I replied. I was surprised I could joke, given the situation, but the man obviously found it funny and smiled at me.

"Yes. I guess they look a bit like that." I was about to ask whether I could be released from my confinement when he flicked open one of the buckles and pulled away the strap, as if he had read my mind. When he had removed all of them I immediately sat up and saw that I had indeed been waxed from head to toe. And that I was naked.

"Oh God." Suddenly feeling embarrassed I moved my hands to cover myself and the man laughed.

"Don't worry. I've seen more than enough dicks to last a lifetime." As I blushed harder he handed me a pair of pants and I quickly slipped them on.

"I suppose I should introduce myself." He said, once I was clothed and over my embarrassment. He had kindly looked away as I had dressed and I guessed we were going to get along. "My name is Cinna." Cinna held out his hand and I shook it. It was the first genuine greeting I had received since my name had been drawn.

"I suppose you know my name." I said, managing to add in a bit of sarcasm. Cinna laughed again.

"Yes I do Sam." He replied. "Haymitch was right about you."

"Haymitch?" Not saying anymore Cinna motioned for me to stand and then surveyed my body again.

"Yes. We should have a lot to work with here. Did you have a job in District 12?"

"No." My response was met with a confused frown. "Well, I'm still at school, but I have a brother and sister to look after. I kind of do all the manual labour jobs since my father…" I didn't finish my sentence but Cinna understood.

"That explains the muscle mass." He said to himself, nodding his head. His hands ran across the tops of my arms but again I didn't feel violated. There was nothing threatening about my stylist, considering his employers.

"Yes, we will be able to do lots with you." He continued after a while. "And the people will respond to your looks."

"You make me sound like a piece of meat." I replied, before realising in horror that now that was pretty much what I was. Meat to be slaughtered.

"This is a business my friend." Cinna replied with a sympathetic smile. "But it's looking good for you." Apart from the getting killed part. After handing me some more clothes Cinna told me I was to return to my home building and rest until work began in the evening on my ceremony look.

* * *

The home building was perhaps even bigger than the others. With 12 floors each one represented a district. I pressed the 12th button in the elevator and was transported up into what could only be described as the ultimate penthouse suite. The living room was huge – about 5 times the size of my whole house, and housed just about every electrical contraption you could imagine. TVs, running machines, simulators. There was even a huge electronic fish tank placed in the centre – as I walked over to it I noticed not fish inside, but some weird species of turtle that made me jump back when it snapped it's jaws.

"Hey Sam?" Hearing a familiar voice I turned round to see Haymitch sitting in front of yet another huge TV screen. He seemed a little more sober now, but his brow was etched into a deep set frown. "Come here." As I walked over and placed myself down in one of the plush red seats I realised the TV was playing a recap of all of the reapings.

"What's up?" I asked, still noticing his frown. Effie was sitting to my right and Tina had perched herself across from me. For a second I was shocked at how different she looked, and saw her blush when she noticed my gaze.

"There's been a bit of a scandal." Effie finally stated, filling me in.

"_A_ _bit of a scandal_? The reaping has been fixed!" Now it was my turn to frown. The reaping fixed? What could that mean?

"How did they do that?" I asked. As if on cue, the TV started replaying the ceremonies again and Haymitch simply pointed to the screen.

"Watch."

* * *

The reapings were done in order of district from lowest to highest, so District 1 was first. I was amazed at how much grander the stage was that housed the two glass bowls, how the crowd chatted excitedly about who would be chosen instead of silently praying it wouldn't be them. A woman that could have been Effie's high-class sister tottered to the front of the stage and read out the rules again. I blurred the noise and focused on searching the picture, trying to see if anything suspicious was going on. Then the woman picked the first name out of the bowl.

"Rachel Berry." Immediately a lithe dark haired girl jumped up from her seat. Several of her friends squealed, patting her on the shoulder and acting like she had just won a prize. As she walked up the steps I saw the jewels in the star shaped necklace hanging around her slender neck glinting in the sunlight. She greeted the Effie woman with a smile and a handshake and then waved to the crowd. The scene was so unlike the district 12 reaping that it didn't seem like it was actually happening.

"Thank you Rachel. Would anyone like to offer as tribute?" Immediately I realised the scandal. Someone strange must have offered. But amazingly nobody moved. Even the lady seemed surprised.

"Ok, ok… Well onto the boys!" As Rachel walked gracefully to her seat the woman dipped her hand in the next bowl and drew out the final slip.

"Blaine Anderson." Instantly cheers rang out. Haymitch smashed his fist onto the small wooden coffee table that sat between us and the TV and made us all jump.

"FIX! How can the Mayor's son _and_ his cousin be picked by chance!" I still didn't understand his anger until I saw the face of the boy. Short but equally lithe, with broad shoulders and a skin tone exactly the same as Rachel's – they definitely looked related. In fact, Rachel seemed just as pleased over his selection as he was. Clapping hands with the boys surrounding him Blaine was mobbed as he made his way towards the stage, like he was already a celebrity in his own right. When he reached the stage the people cheered again and he held out his arms like he was soaking it in. The distain rose in me like a boiling pan.

"That cocky idiot! He must have been training for the games since he was born!" As Blaine and Rachel exchanged a kiss on the cheek Haymitch ranted and raved, causing Tina to bring her legs up to her chest protectively. To be honest I was just as angry as my mentor. Nobody had the right to celebrate their selection. The opportunity to kill was not a good one.

* * *

As we watched the other reapings there was plenty more action to be had. In District 2 a shock volunteering saw Noah Puckerman volunteer to replace the male tribute and join his 'soul mate' Quinn Fabray. The commentators described it as 'an act of true love and sacrifice' – Haymitch pretended to gag and I had to agree with him. In District 3 a boy with a severe walking impairment named Artie Abrams was chosen – the shock rang out across the arena but he put on a brave face and nobody volunteered to replace him. The District 6 reaping saw two equally similar children being chosen, again both with slightly darker skin. Jake and Sunshine held hands as they greeted the crowd – this gesture unlike the arrogance of Blaine and Rachel but instead showing solidarity. The male tribute from District 10 made me shiver with his sheer size but his female counterpart didn't look too happy to be paired with such a brute and District 11 produced two of the youngest tributes. The hollow shock on their faces reminded me of Stacey and for a second I had to look away. Then Effie patted me on the arm and I looked back up to see her excited.

"Look! It's you!" Flicking back to the screen I saw the familiar square of District 12. Tina's meltdown seemed even more disturbing from this angle – I watched her curl her legs up further and bury her face into her knees with shame as she watched, but I understood her reaction. It was probably something most of the tributes had wanted to do. When my name was read out the silence was deafening. My hands held high attempt at sarcasm was hailed by the commentators as 'heroic', and I was beginning to admire my performance, when the cameras suddenly cut to the exchange Stacey and I had shared before I ascended the stairs. As they zoomed in on her dead face I found the tears that hadn't come before suddenly bubbling towards the surface and in one quick movement jumped out of the chair to run across the room.

"Sam!" Tina called out in concern. I ignored her, running until I reached a door and slammed it shut behind me. Suddenly it all flooded out – I dropped to my knees and began sobbing – the sobs that had been silent before now loud and extremely painful. I sobbed until the floor around me was wet with my tears, until my chest hurt and I barely had enough energy to hold myself up anymore.

* * *

After a few minutes I heard a knock at the door. I went to shout at them to go away but remembered the sound-proofing rule and so waited with a hung head for them to enter. I had been expecting it to be Tina, so was surprised when I smelt the faint whiff of alcohol.

"The first time you've cried?" Haymitch asked, his voice not directed at my body, but at the window. I glanced up to see him staring out of it. I hadn't realised, but we could see the whole Capitol from here. The sun was beginning to set and I knew it wouldn't be long before the opening ceremony.

"I remember my first time." My mentor continued after I made no reply. "You try so hard to hold it in and then you just feel like it's useless." I still didn't want to say anything but hauled myself to my feet. As Haymitch and I both stared out of the window I felt glad that he wasn't about to tell me to do anything – like he was respecting me as someone who knew what he'd been through.

"All your family…" I asked after a long stretch of silence. My voice was cracked and the sound of it made me hate myself, made me hate everything that had happened up to this point "…did they all die?"

"Every last one of them." Haymitch replied with a sad smile. Suddenly his expression flickered and I realised he was putting on his own act. "Death is something you have to get used to now. You have been chosen to kill – every moral or reason you had before is gone. You are a slave to the Capitol now. And the sooner you realise that, the better." I wanted to say something – ask him the thousand questions that had been brewing in my mind the whole train journey – but before I could get my words out he turned and walked swiftly out of the door.


	5. The Roar Of The Crowds

_This is a short one guys - but here you go!_

_Please spread the word of this fic if you like it because I am really proud of it :D_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 5 - The Roar Of The Crowds**

When I was lead back down to the stylist chambers again I was tired and worn out. The thought of parading myself in front of thousands of people was the last thing I wanted, but I grit my teeth and acted like I didn't care.

Directed into the metal room from before the door closed behind me and I found myself staring at the same table I had laid on several hours earlier. I could see my reflection and was shocked at how different I seemed. Not just in my appearance, but my whole demeanour. Suddenly the door opened and Cinna entered. To be honest I was rather glad to see him.

"Hello again Sam." He said with a smile. "Get any rest?"

"What do you think?" I replied. He chuckled, walking over slowly before stopping to examine my face.

"Have you been crying?" Immediately I shrunk back, bowing my head and rubbing my eyes nervously.

"No…"

"It's ok. I'm surprised you held it out this long." Placing a finger under my chin he titled my head up and then looked at my eyes carefully. "Nothing we can't fix." He said with a smile. "By the time you're out in that chariot nobody will even think you're nervous."

* * *

The dressing process for the opening ceremony was long, but not as arduous as my original primping had been. I was stripped naked, but for some reason didn't feel that self-conscious – Cinna watching over me more like a parent dressing their child than anything else. The make up team were put to work covering my whole body with a strange glow, and then my outfit was discussed and brought out. Normally tributes were dressed depending on the trade of their district – seeing as ours was coal I didn't have high hopes – however, when I laid eyes upon the fabric I was surprisingly impressed.

"What does coal do when you use it?" Cinna had asked me as he presented the clothes. "Burn." My suit was a dark black, slimming but also defining, and was edged with what could only be described as fire. I couldn't fathom how it worked, but the flames actually seemed to move and shimmer, just as my skin did.

"It's…" I said once I had put it on, examining the fabric as indepthly as I could "…amazing."

"Bet the District 1 people won't be expecting this." Chuckling, Cinna pulled over a full length mirror. I'd been able to catch half a glance at my reflection through the metal walls, but now I was allowed a look at the whole picture. Wow. I looked…

"Handsome." Cinna finished for me. His words reminded me of Mother.

"Yes, I do." I replied, for a second words failing me completely.

"Handsome…" Cinna said again, walking towards me and bending down to whisper in my ear, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear "…but deadly."

* * *

The roar of the crowd became evident as we were herded into the chariot chamber. People had been gathering in the stands since early evening and now the sun had finally set the stands above us shook and hummed with noise. I was glad the room was cold, as I could feel sweat building on my forehead and my heart pounding in my chest. Tina was revealed to me right before we entered the chariot – again her beauty astonished me and her blush was visible under the same sheen of glimmering make up that had been plastered over me.

"My my! What a beautiful pair!" Effie exclaimed, rushing over and taking both of her hands, her bony fingers crushing into my palm.

"Don't forget to smile," Haymitch said, taking on a more logical approach, "give them a show." I nodded, getting my head into gear and then we were alone. Stepping onto the chariot I held out my hand to Tina and then helped her into the space next to me.

"This is it." I said, trying to smile but struggling to move my face. Tina nodded, a flash of fear in her eyes and as the doors opened I squeezed her hand tight.

* * *

The noise was unbelievable. For a second I wondered if I'd stepped into the centre of a tornado. Everything around us was shouting, screaming our names. As the chariot began to move forward I almost lost my balance and gripped onto the golden edge, straightening myself up quickly and remembering what Haymitch had said. _Give them a show_. The track we were to parade down was long and swooping with a circle at the end in order for us to be shown several times. The stands either side stretched up much higher than I'd thought and every single seat in it was filled with a Capitol resident. Their garish alien faces contorted into smiles and shouts – kisses her blown our way and declarations of love or good luck thrown towards us. Daring to turn my head slightly I saw mine and Tina's faces on the huge screen and realised we looked scared.

"Smile." I muttered to Tina, stretching my lips out into a grin and removing my right hand from the chariot to raise it into a wave. Immediately the crowds around us cheered and I realised Tina was doing the same. As the camera zoomed in on our still connected hands I squeezed tighter to show we were doing a good job.

* * *

The procession moved slowly down the track. As the last district, ahead I could see the 11 other chariots that held the other tributes. Occasionally their faces would flash up onto the screens and I saw the careers standing majestically – enjoying their fame. A lot of air time was given to Blaine and Rachel – their sparking suits shining so brightly you almost couldn't see their smiling, arrogant faces. When we reached the circle we travelled round it slowly, allowing us to see the area we had just come from. It was ridiculous – the money, the time spent on this. The thousands and thousand of people, not to mention the people in their homes, watching us like we were superstars. Pretty soon all the glitter and glamour would be gone and they would be watching us massacre each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen." A loud announcement suddenly boomed from one of the many speakers surrounding us. The girl tribute from District 11 jumped at the sound and had to be held straight by her male counterpart. "I present to you – the tributes of the 74th Hunger Games!" The roar that filled the stadium echoed in my ears and for a second I closed my eyes and thought of home. Mother, Stevie and Stacey would all be watching right now, praying for me.

"I love you." I mouthed quietly. The cameras could probably have picked it up, but I didn't care. I wanted them to know.


	6. The Acquisition Of Knowledge

**Chapter 6 - The Acquisition Of Knowledge**

The next morning I awoke to the smell of breakfast. The ceremony had ended late and I'd fallen straight into bed, still with a little of the glittery makeup plastered on my face. As I dragged myself upwards and into the main room I saw Tina already sitting eating. Yesterday she'd seemed radiant, beautiful, confident in the glamour of the stadium lights. Now though she was very much back to her deprecating self.

"Sam!" Haymitch exclaimed when he saw me. He always seemed happy over my arrival – whether it was just a friendly trait or he liked being saved from the misery of my counterpart was hard to decipher.

"Morning." I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. As I reached the table and sat down I gave Tina and smile, but she didn't return it.

"You'd better eat up – got a big day ahead of you." My mentor continued. I nodded my head and realised the source of Tina's mood as I reached for the eggs. Today was the day we met the other tributes, began training. Today we decided how we would kill.

"Don't forget your orange juice." Effie said in her twinkley voice, pointing to the tall full glass that sat next to Tina's plate of half touched pancakes.

"_Yes I know!"_ Was the snapped reply. Effie jumped back and tried to make it look like nothing had happened, but I shared a look with Haymitch that was somewhere between amusement and worry.

"Now, when you meet the other tributes, there's bound to be some agitation." Haymitch began again. I could tell he was mainly directing this information to me as Tina had now started to scrape the seeds off a bagel she had picked up with a blunt knife. "Some of them will have big mouths, try to put you down. Ignore that." I could work out who he was talking about without even having to ask. "Keep yourself to yourself during these days. Show them your strength, but keep your secret weapon just that – a secret." As I chewed my first forkful of eggs I wondered what my secret weapon was. I figured I was strong, and caring – although that didn't have much use in the arena. I guessed I was strong mentally too, and able to cope with loss.

"If you make any friends," Haymitch continued, now leaning forward and getting into his schpiel, "keep them for now, but realise they could turn on you at any moment. Trust only yourself." Looking across at Tina I suddenly realised what that meant. Quickly I averted my eyes but saw her shake her head through my peripheral vision.

"Ok. When you're done get ready and we'll meet you at the lift." Tina immediately rose to her feet. Her food still looked barely touched but none of us complained as she made her way to her bedroom.

* * *

When I had showered and dressed I made my way across the main room to the lift. I wasn't sure if it was the design, or poor sizing, but my shirt felt a little tight around my chest. I figured it was supposed to look like that. When I reached the doors I saw Haymitch dressed in exactly the same clothes as before and Tina in a similar outfit to mine. Her hair had been put up into a tight bun but her face still wore the same defeated expression.

"Great! On time and ready!" Haymitch exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. I chuckled lightly and then Tina shot me a glare.

"You're on your own from here. Remember what I said at breakfast." Patting Tina on the shoulder and then shaking my hand Haymitch gave me a comforting look and I nodded in response. Then the door to the elevator opened and he left us behind.

* * *

As we began to travel downwards I saw Tina staring straight forward, emotionless. I hated her being like this – so negative – when we had only a scrap of hope left.

"So, have you figured out a plan yet?" I began, assuming general conversation would be the way to set things off. "If you want we can visit the stations together, team up for a bit, work out each other's str-"

"-I'm not going to do anything," Tina cut me off bluntly, distain in her voice. "I'm _not a killer_."

"You don't have to look at the combat stuff – there are plenty of other things like identifying plants and camouflage, we can-"

"-DON'T YOU GET IT?" Suddenly I froze, shocked by her sudden outburst. "I'm not doing it! I'm not gonna kill anyone or let them kill me!"

"You kind of have to." I replied, my voice wary, but honest.

"No I don't! I don't have to do anything the stupid Capitol tells me!" Turning towards me I saw Tina had been holding this in for a while. "I'm gonna quit. Say I don't want to do it anymore. They have to let me go."

"Tina…" I replied again, beginning to feel a little desperate. "You can't do that. Don't you think _I _would do that if I had the chance? Don't you think we _all _would? A tribute can't just quit when things get tough."

"Things were tough from the moment they chose our names from that stupid bowl!" Suddenly I was smacked up against the side of the elevator. Tina had hit the stop button with one hand and had the other just inches from my left ear. Her eyes looked wild and for the first time in her presence I was scared. For a few seconds we were frozen there – me not wanting to move and Tina looking at me like she really did want to kill something. Then, all of a sudden, her tough exterior crumbled.

"I can't do this." She said, her voice suddenly breaking and her eyes filling with tears. "I can't do this Sam, I just can't." As her body began to weaken I realised she was about to collapse again, so held up my arms and caught her as she fell.

"No, Tina." I said as I tried to haul her to her feet again. Tears were spilling from my friend's eyes and dampening my shirt. "Tina you have to stand up." Finally I managed to get her upright and brushed the moisture away from her face. "We can get through this."

"No we can't!" Tina wailed, still not listening to me. "We're going to die!"

"No we're not!" I shouted back. "We can't afford to think like that Tina, we just _can't_! If you give up now you're just giving the Capitol what they want. You have to be _strong_ – show them you're not their puppet. Do it for Mike." At the mention of her boyfriend's name again Tina stopped blubbering. She wiped her nose with her arm and I let go of her shoulders.

"Here. I brought a handkerchief for you just in case." I said, rummaging around in my pocket and bringing out a small square of soft fabric. "And…" I continued as my friend took it and blew her nose "…this too," digging down deeper I pulled up a rather battered but still edible pancake. "_You need to eat_." I said mock sternly as I handed it over and Tina let out a small laugh. As she nibbled at the corner I released the stop button and let us continue down towards the basement.

* * *

I kept my arm round Tina as we walked the 50 metres or so to the training arena, but then forced her to stand alone and sort herself out before we opened the door.

"Don't show them your fear." I said, mirroring what Haymitch had said to me earlier, but in a kinder fashion. "Pretend like you know their deepest, darkest secret."

"That they like to sing in the shower?" Tina offered, another faint smile on her lips. I nodded, smiling back.

"Whatever floats your boat." As we pushed the door open, I was filled with a sense of confidence – that we might actually be ok here.

My confidence vanished within the first second.

* * *

"Oh, here they are." Our arrival had been brought to the attention of the 22 other tributes waiting through the door. Seeing them up close for the first time was strange, but it was easy to pick out the Careers. "Last again." The girl that had spoken was tall and slender – her blonde hair falling just below her ears. I recognised her as Quinn from District 2.

"And they're the ones that need the most work." Her male counterpart, Puck, responded to her. His sheer size was daunting, and the Mohawk sheared into his head added to the effect. I glared back at them with the most menacing expression I could muster but they simply laughed like I was a small child.

"Hey look – that one's been crying." A new boy that I hadn't focused that much on, but remembered from the District 4 reaping, pointed at Tina. "What a baby." His mouth stretched into a grin and the small tan skinned girl next to him laughed menacingly.

"Hey." I replied, suddenly feeling protective. My feet took a step forward and the District 4 boy looked at me with surprised eyes.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"Yes. You just insulted my friend." I retorted back. Instantly some of the tributes gasped. Puck rubbed his hands together with glee.

"Oh really? Do you wanna go for it?" Stepping forward, the District 4 boy held his arms open and I realised he was asking for a fight. I knew it was a stupid thing to do, and could hear Haymitch's voice in my head telling me to back down, but I stepped forward too.

"Do you wanna go?" District 4 boy was advancing fast now, soon his chest hit mine and he gave me a shove with the tips of his fingers. "I'm ready, I'm freakin ready!"

* * *

Suddenly the sound of a shrill whistle filled the arena. Several of the tributes clutched their ears and everyone stopped what they were doing. As I turned to look at the source I saw a middle aged but extremely well built man in shorts and a polo shirt striding towards us. He seemed a little agitated with the fight that had been just about to break out so headed straight to me and District 4 boy.

"What is this?" He asked in a harsh tone. The brown haired boy immediately raised his hands up and walked backwards.

"Nothing sir." He replied, but shooting me the most evil glare possible.

"It better not be." The trainer replied, before turning to stare menacingly at me. "Save it for the arena boys." As he moved back to the front of the pack Tina rushed to my side, babbling something about me not having to defend her and was I ok. I noticed a couple of the other tributes looking at me with interest – in particular the young boy and girl from District 11, but then saw a figure waltz over to District 4 boy and pat him on the back.

"Chill it Sebastian." He said, the action like a friend but the words a command from a leader. "He's not worth it." As he turned to look back at me Blaine and I locked eyes and I knew from that second I hated him more than all of the other tributes combined.

* * *

When we had gathered in the centre of the arena, the man that had blown the whistle gave out our instructions.

"The next three days," he said, "are for you to train. To practice and learn skills that will help you survive whatever challenges the real arena may throw at you. It is up to you which stations you visit, but I suggest as many as possible." As he began to go through all the possible skills we could learn I looked over at Tina and saw her looking queasy again. Her eyed were fixed on a dummy with several targets on its body and I guessed she knew what it meant.

"Hey." I whispered as quietly as I could. A boy with curly brown hair turned to look at me but he didn't rat me out. "We don't have to do that." I whispered again, pointing to the station Tina had been looking at. She nodded her head, obviously grateful, and smiled.

* * *

When we eventually broke away Tina and I decided to stick together. There had been a silent pact formed that we wouldn't visit any of the combat stations (at least, not together) so we immediately headed for the plant identifying one.

"Hello there!" The attendant said cheerfully once we arrived. "Come to learn about safe plants to eat?" Tina and I nodded and she immediately opened up a big box of samples and books for us to look at.

* * *

"Is that your girlfriend?" I'd been examining a particular berry that I couldn't seem to find in the books when the voice came out of nowhere. My eyes looked up to see a boy standing beside me, talking as if we were spies relaying a secret message. For a second I didn't realise what he was talking about, but then saw him looking at Tina, who was completing a computer exercise, and shook my head.

"Oh, no. She has a boyfriend back home. We're just friends."

"Oh. The District 2 people are playing that card so I thought you might be too." The boy picked up a dry leaf and examined it. "What's this?"

"Elderflower." I replied before the woman at the counter even had time to speak. Both her and the boy looked at me with surprise and I blushed.

"I use it at home." Was my feeble reply. The boy picked up a few more plants and began studying them carefully, writing down some notes in a book he was carrying. He had long dark hair made into dreadlocks and his hands seemed stained with dirt that wouldn't come off.

"Why did you do it then?" He suddenly asked again. Once more I was taken off guard, and had to process for a few seconds before I replied.

"Do what?"

"Stand up for her. If you're not in love with her, and you're gonna have to kill her – then why do it?" I bit my lip, not knowing how to respond.

"I guess…" My hands moved to grab the piece of flower the boy had just discarded, knowing it was a dandelion, and brought it up to my nose to sniff. "I guess I just want to stay human." The boy nodded, obviously understanding my answer. Then, as abruptly as he had arrived, he left.

* * *

When lunchtime drew in a bell sounded and we were instructed to leave our stations and move to the centre of the floor. There a table full of food had been set out along with several others to eat on. I had figured there would be 12 separate tables for each district, but saw only 7 – suggesting that we were supposed to mix. Immediately the Careers all moved to claim one so that left only 6. As Tina and I loaded food onto our plates I tried to gauge how she was feeling. She didn't seem too downhearted, although that could just have been an act. But staying away from the combat stations had definitely been the right decision. As I reached for a piece of bread the boy that had spoken to me at the plant station suddenly appeared again.

"Hi." He said, offering me a smile. "My name's Joe – I didn't tell you before." I nodded, knowing I should probably reveal my identity, but for some reason wanting to keep it a secret. "Can I sit with you?" Looking across at Tina I saw her shrug her shoulders. Not seeing any harm in the gesture I nodded and Joe smiled back again.

"Thanks." He left to reserve us some seats and I raised my eyebrows at Tina, making her giggle.

When we got to our table Joe had already started eating. The eerily similar Jake and Sunshine from District 6 had set themselves up at the other end but made no effort to talk to us, so we ignored them.

"Mmmn, this is good." Joe said, taking a big slurp of some soup. I couldn't gauge him – work out what his angle was. He seemed harmless enough though so I let him continue.

"What district are you guys from then?" He asked after a short while. I thought about not replying again but Tina answered for me.

"Twelve." Joe nodded his head, processing the information.

"Becky and I are from 9." He motioned over to a small girl sitting on one of the other tables, with a large sandy haired male and a blonde haired girl. She had obviously chosen not to band up with her district partner but he didn't seem too bothered.

"Cool." I replied, trying to sound interested. Joe looked at Tina again, a funny glint in his eyes.

"You are really pretty." He said. Tina immediately blushed, trying to hide her embarrassment and Joe smiled cheekily.

"Hey." I said, taking on the role of mock big brother. "I said she had a boyfriend didn't I?"

"Well it wouldn't hurt to try." Joe replied, producing another blush from Tina and a laugh from him. I suppose I had to be thankful for his humour – there wasn't much else to joke about round here.

* * *

We carried on eating for a little longer until our new friend couldn't resist speaking again.

"So what do you know about the other tributes?" I almost scoffed at the statement. If I knew anything about the people I was competing against – and that wasn't much – I wasn't going to share it with somebody who could very well use it to kill me.

"No, not really." Tina replied again – saving me once more from what could have been an awkward situation. "Do you?"

"Well…" Suddenly Joe leant forward. Tina followed suit and I found myself also doing the same. "I know that Kitty's hiding something." When we didn't respond to the name Kitty he pointed over to a girl sitting near to but not on the Career's table. "District 5. She's not touched the knife-throwing stand but I can see her staring at it like a designer pair of shoes. She's plotting something. And seriously hot." My eyebrows rose again involuntarily. Wow – Joe certainly liked to get around. "That massive dude from District 10 – Finn – the Careers asked him to join them because he's so big but he said no. Wants to stick around with his partner but _she_ has no intention of keeping him." As I looked over towards the rest of the tables it wasn't hard to spot Finn. He towered over the rest of us – even Puck, who kept shooting him nervous glances from across his shoulder. Finn had sat on a table with an average sized but strong looking Latino girl – from the way she was perched as far away from him as possible I guessed that was his partner.

"I think she thinks he's a bit-" Joe continued his gossip streak, whistling after the last word and twirling his finger around his ear so it looked like the action for crazy. To be honest I could see what he meant – the way Finn was eating wasn't exactly refined.

"And that's all I've got." Leaning back in his chair Joe rested his hands behind his head, as if he had just finished reeling off a long list of instructions. Tina and I glanced at each other, not really knowing what to say.

"Er…thanks?" I guessed Joe's secret weapon was listening.

"No problem." He replied with a smile. We underdogs have all got to stick together y'know?" I nodded, taking another bite of my bread and Tina smiled.

"Oh, and Blaine and the Careers are all assholes, but I guess you knew that." Joe suddenly added. I was about to agree wholeheartedly, when a commotion started to brew near the exact table we were talking about.

* * *

Rachel, the girl from District 1 and Blaine's sidekick, had turned away from her fellow Careers to face one of the tables with only 2 tributes on them. I recognised them as the District 11 girl and boy – the youngest of the group.

"Hey." She said, at first sounding kind but then repeating it in a more harsh tone. "Hey brown haired girl!" The girl in question turned round. I could see she was a little nervous but Rachel greeted her with a smile.

"Your hair is so pretty." She said, cocking her head to the side and admiring it. "Who braided it like that?" The District 11 girl blushed, obviously pleased, and smiled.

"Um, I did. My mother used to do it for me when I was little and then she taught me."

"Oh wow. How adorable." Glancing over at Tina I sensed something bad was about to happen. She shrugged her shoulders and we carried on watching.

"Why don't you come over and sit with us? You can teach me how to do it – we can be friends." Rachel beckoned with her finger towards the empty space that had just been created by Quinn moving downwards. The District 11 girl immediately turned to her partner. I could tell she was a little nervous – it was very unusual for the Careers to invite anyone other than the strong or clever (and she was neither of those) to their table. But she was young, and as her partner nodded. I could tell they thought it would be a good strategy to keep them alive – to look for protection. Slowly she gathered up her plate – everybody in the whole room was now watching her but she tried to ignore it and smiled as she walked over. Rachel smiled back as she approached – a sickly smile that I knew meant nothing but trouble, but she kept it there until the girl was merely a few feet away.

"Come and sit next to me." She said, patting the space with her left hand. The girl went to place her tray down on the table, bending down slightly and then all of a sudden there was a crash. Rachel had flicked her hand up underneath the girl's plate – sending it flying into the air, narrowly missing her face, and then crashing to the floor. The china smashed and the food went everywhere. Everybody reacted to that, until they realised that during this motion she had also used that same hand to then grab hold of the girl's hair.

"Now you listen to me." She hissed. Gone was the sweet friendly persona from before – instead replaced with the most menacing snarl I had ever seen. "You'd better find a good hiding place in that arena, because when me and my friends find you, we're gonna cut off all your pretty little _hair_," with the word she tugged down harshly on the girl's hair – she let out a scream of pain and the other Careers laughed, "slit your throat _and_ your little boyfriend's," her free hand pointed to the District 11 boy, who was currently frozen, unable and too afraid to save his friend, "and feed you to the dogs. _Got that_?" The District 11 girl was now crying, snot dribbling from her nose and her scalp red from the strain Rachel was putting on her hair.

"_GOT THAT_?" Tugging down even harder the girl screamed once more, a scream that then turned into a response.

"Yes! Yes! I get it!"

"Good." Finally releasing her the District 11 girl fell to the floor – her partner immediately came to rescue her and was kicked in the ribs by Quinn. The arena officials arrived just as they had made it back to their table, and the Careers laughter boomed around the hall for several minutes.

"What bullies." Joe said, shaking his head as everyone else returned to their meals – not feeling as hungry as they had before. "They make me sick."

"I know." I replied, my eyes still trained upon the two young tributes as they worked to get rid of their tears and injuries. I then glanced at the Careers table again and met eyes with Blaine once more. He was laughing and joking, Rachel lightly taking hold of Quinn's hair to recreate what had just happened, but it was the look he gave me that angered me the most. Like he didn't have to do anything and already these Games were his.

"I don't think I wanna eat anymore." I said, pushing my plate away and rising to my feet.

"Me neither." Tina replied, following suit. As I took my plate over to the bins and began to throw away the remaining food, I looked at Blaine and the other Careers, made sure they took notice of me and then spat onto my plate. To anyone else it would just look like I was cleaning it. But they knew what it meant. When I had finished I dumped it on the washing rack and turned around to leave – hearing them whispering about me behind my back.


	7. The Grading Of Tributes

_This chapter is dedicated to R Harper - possibly my most loyal reviewer ever! You are awesome :D_

_This chapter starts the real drama! Hope you like_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 7 - The Grading Of Tributes**

For the next few days we trained and trained. Keeping to Tina's wish, we checked out every non combat station the arena had to offer – from plants to shelter building to bird calls and track following. Of course the combat stations were still always filled – the careers using every opportunity to smash up some dummies and show off their superior strength. I noticed with interest that Blaine didn't show his anger so much. He seemed to view his strength to be his leadership – directing the other tributes like they were his pawns. He handled a blade a few times, but other than that just seemed to watch the others. It was more than frustrating. I consoled myself and tried to figure out my own combat strengths by stealing knives at dinner times and firing them at the walls – pretending they were his head.

* * *

On the fourth and final day we were told not to enter the main arena until after lunch. We would be able to talk to our mentors and practice until then, but afterwards we would show our skills to the Gamemakers and be given our score. The score was crucial to the Games as not only did it suss out the weak from the strong, it also showed who was most likely to get sponsors. The average score was around an 8, so I was aiming for at least that.

* * *

Haymitch woke Tina and I up nice and early to get us prepped for the day. We ate breakfast in the normal fashion and Tina seemed even a little brighter than usual.

"So, feeling ready?" He asked as we ate. To my surprise Tina looked at me and then nodded. I nodded too, even managing a smile and Haymitch smiled back.

"Hey, can you pass me the orange juice?" He asked, reaching a hand over towards the glass jug that was on my right hand side.

"What? No early morning booze?" I asked jokingly. Since our arrival I had seen our mentor drink less and less. This meant he was hopeful.

"Nope, gotta be on my best behaviour if I wanna discuss anything rational with you two today." I handed him the jug, smiling again and he poured himself a glass, before downing it in one and giving a satisfied sigh after. As we laughed and joked about the day ahead, it almost felt like we were a family. A small, very dysfunctional family.

* * *

"So, what is your combat strength?" Haymitch asked me, rubbing his hands together. We were sitting in a small room that I hadn't even known existed, next to the bedrooms on our floor. The walls were a solid brown wood and one big glass window looked over the Capitol. My face fell.

"Um, well…I don't know."

"_You don't know_?" My mentor asked incredulously.

"No, not really. Tina asked if we could stay away from the combat stations."

"She did WHAT?" Obviously the request of my friend had not been notified to Haymitch. His face seemed to turn red with rage.

"I'm sorry, I thought if-"

"-You can't just _not_ do any combat!"

"But you said-"

"I said not to show them your _secret weapon_ – not to not fight at all! They're going to think you're useless!"

'I probably am.' I thought to myself. So far my knife throwing exploits had resulted only in several broken lamps and a very frustrated Sam over not being able to hit his nemesis in the face.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled again, not really knowing what to say in this situation.

"You should be!" For a couple of seconds we sat there in silence – Haymitch trying to catch his breath back and me trying to calm myself down. What if I had screwed this up? What if me not knowing any fighting brought my score down? I could have ruined my chances – I could have killed myself.

"So, what exactly were you planning on doing for the grading then?" The next words from my mentor were surprisingly calm – he seemed to have regained his composure and I could tell he was working very hard not to hit me in the face.

"Well I have a good knowledge of all the plants and flowers." A damn good knowledge. I had pretty much memorised the book. "So I thought I would start with that."

"Yes, _dazzle them_ with your knowledge of shrubbery – that'll really get the money flowing in." I knew Haymitch was just frustrated, but it was hard to take his comments as anything more than degrading. It wasn't my fault that Tina was adverse to fighting – I'd just been trying to give both of us the best chance we possibly could.

"How are you going to _shock_ them? How are you going to make them _listen_?" I shook my head, resigning in defeat.

"I…I don't know." There was another stretch of silence and I presumed it was Haymitch preparing to send me out in disgust. Then he spoke again.

"Have you ever been angry Sam?" I looked up, confused.

"What?"

"Has anything ever made you angry? Not the kind where you kick a few things over or shout at the mirror – the kind where you literally want to rip someone's throat out?" My immediate response was to say no. I'd never wanted to kill anyone in my entire life. It wasn't in my nature. But then I thought again.

"I guess I have once." Haymitch's face lit up, but he proceeded cautiously.

"When?"

"I guess when…" My fingers began to trace the patterns on the wooden table. My mouth turned dry and my hands began to feel clammy. "…when my father died, I guess I was angry at the world. Angry at the miners, angry at the Capitol, angry at God…"

"You believe in God?"

"Not really. But I was still angry at him. For taking my dad away." Suddenly emotions that had long been locked away were abruptly brought up. When father had died I'd been forced to take on the role of 'male leader'. I'd been forced to shut out my grief – but of course had shown it in other ways. In secret, on the top of a hill or in a disused mill. I'd shout and I'd scream and I'd want to tear holes in everything that existed. I'd battered myself almost to the point of death. But then I'd resurfaced.

I didn't tell Haymitch any of this but through my silence he could tell. He could tell how much I'd been through.

"Start with the plants." He said plainly, touching me lightly on the shoulder as he spoke. "But _then. Then_ show them what's in here." He moved his hand to point towards my heart. "That anger. It will be your weapon."

* * *

When I left the room I felt slightly more positive than when I'd entered. Tina gave me a questioning look as I passed her and I smiled, making her smile back. As she entered I wondered what on earth Haymitch would say to her if his reaction to my skills had been that damning.

The result was bad. Tina flew out of the room just five minutes after she had entered. I went to ask her what was wrong and then heard the sound of crashing behind the wooden walls.

* * *

As I descended into the arena all thoughts of my tribute partner were left behind. This was all about me now. Running Haymitch's instructions over in my head I flicked through the book of plants and flowers yet again, checking I knew every single one of them and also thought about my secret skill of anger. I wasn't sure how I would release it, or how effective it would be, but I knew I had to make it count. Faintly through the walls I could hear the sounds of movement, of laughing and jeering and the clinking of glasses. The Gamemakers watched every tribute and judged them on their particular skills. Of course, if all 24 tributes had 5 minutes that meant a lot of watching, and many of them got bored. Right now the boy from District 11 was showing – then it would be Tina and finally me. I hadn't seen my partner but from what I gathered she probably wasn't in the best frame of mind to show off her attacking. Part of me was frustrated at Haymitch for riling her up, for making her upset and probably thwarting her chances. But the other part of me knew he was simply trying to do his job.

The door to the waiting room banged open and the District 11 boy stepped inside. He seemed a little worn out and scared, but he walked steady and shot past me without saying anything. He couldn't be more than 14 – it was awful to let such young children compete in such a barbaric sport. Knowing Tina was now in the ring I closed my eyes and began to plan my show again, running and running through it until I was sure it was perfect.

* * *

When the buzzer sounded I jumped to my feet. Tina had been less than 5 minutes and that worried me, but I moved towards the door and waited for it to open. Suddenly I found my mouth short of saliva – I realised what an important moment this was and began to feel my legs shaking. Then the doors opened and I stepped out into the arena.

* * *

When I'd said the Gamemakers were rowdy I hadn't been wrong. The noise was even louder than I'd thought – laughing and singing, food and drink being sloshed around everywhere. When I looked at all the decadence and thought of my nearly starving family at home, it made me sick, but I carried on walking until I reached the centre point and turned to face them.

"Sam Evans, District 12." I said, following the format I had been given.

"We know who you are!" One of the Gamemakers bellowed. I chose to ignore the comment and moved quickly towards the computer. Playing the game I had seen Tina do before, a selection of plants and flowers flashed up onto the screen in boxes. I immediately eliminated all the deadly poisonous ones, and then set about finding the ones that could injure or severely damage parts of the body starting from the most severe. I moved surprisingly quickly, and had almost finished when another Gamemaker shouted out a catcall.

"Sorting out plants? I'm not paying my money for this!" The other Gamemakers laughed and began to join in. I tried to focus on the last few plants I needed to identify and sort but their jeering became so loud and obnoxious it filled my ears and made it impossible to concentrate.

"Call yourself a tribute?"

"You won't last five minutes in our arena!" Gradually I began to feel my hands shaking and my heart pounding. At first I thought it was fear and pressure, but then I realised I was getting angry. The arrogance of the Gamemakers made my skin hot, my fists clench and my blood boil. Seeing an opportunity I punched in the final plants on the screen, not caring if they were wrong. As the computer began to relay my score I left it behind and stalked over to the combat zone. I'd only glanced at it once or twice but located the knives and then put them in my hands.

"Oh, look, now he's trying to fight!"

"Can't throw a plant at a bad guy buddy!" Glaring over at the balcony, I found my vision blurring. All those times I had yelled and screamed, all those times I had wished there was a way to bring my father back – to end the pain and misery his death had caused. This was the time to channel it.

"You wanna see a kill?" I asked, my voice suddenly hoarse and raw from anger. "_This_ is a kill." Flinging the first knife from my hand I watched it flip through the air, amazingly landing straight in the centre of the head target on the dummy. Suddenly the Gamemakers fell silent.

"Eh?" I shouted, feeling my anger build up even further, taking me over completely. "Are you happy now?" As the next knife flew and lodged itself in the dummies stomach, I grabbed for some more and threw them in quick succession, bam, bam, bam. I couldn't even see where they were hitting now but grabbed one more, knowing I had to finish my kill off. Running towards the dummy I tackled it to the floor, batting the other knives away and then proceeding to stab my victim in the chest. Over and over I stabbed – my vision getting more and more red, my breathing escalating until I felt like I was going to pass out, but kept on going. Eventually I felt the jolt of my knife hitting the floor – when I opened my eyes I realised I had stabbed so hard and so much I had made a complete hole through the dummy, the knife touching the floor beneath. Falling back onto my haunches, my vision began to clear and I looked in horror at the scene before me. The dummy was destroyed. Bits of foam lay everywhere, almost providing a carpet. The mauled carcass of the dummy laid before me and the knives strewn around it were bent with the force I had thrown them. Suddenly realising what I had done I brought my hand to my mouth and found my lips completely dry, my throat struggling to breathe. Looking up at the balcony I expected to see the Gamemakers looking appalled, horrified – immediately carting me off to the nearest hospital for the mentally depraved. Instead they looked amazed.

"Well…Mr Evans…" One of them said. Before he'd been one of the main hecklers, now he had simply nothing to say. "That it all we need to see." Nodding my head I immediately tried to bring myself to my feet. My heel slipped on a piece of foam and I skittered across the floor, imagining it to be some piece of gut or intestine. The person that I had inexplicably, savagely, murdered. Hands desperately grasping for some free floor I managed to haul my body upwards, staggering towards the door before I even had the chance to right myself. As I reached the door I took one last look at the body – what I was capable of when I let myself go, and left.

* * *

When I reached the 12th floor I expected to be immediately quizzed about my performance. I expected to be asked what I did, how the Gamemakers had reacted. My body was bracing itself for the onslaught, the truth that I would have to admit to myself, when the doors opened and I saw an empty room.

There was no one there. Where was Haymitch? Where was Effie? Where was Tina? Immediately I began to feel worried. Pushing my inner turmoil aside I strode into the room. There was nobody sitting by the TV, although it seemed to be playing a live update of the tributes scores. I didn't even bother to process them, or see if mine had been uploaded yet, when I suddenly heard a shout from a girl. Tina.

* * *

Immediately I ran towards the source of the noise. The door to the meeting room was shut and as I got nearer I realised the sound was being blocked out. Something awful was happening inside. Gripping the handle with my fingers, I tried to open it but realised it had been jammed. Hearing the shouts from inside, this time male, I rammed my body against the door, desperately trying to open it – feeling tears of fear and frustration pool in my eyes and I begged and begged until finally it flew open.

* * *

When I rushed inside I saw Haymitch standing by the doorway, drink in hand. Across the floor lay thousands of little shards of glass – Tina cowered desperately in the opposite corner.

"Tina!" I cried out. At first Haymitch didn't even know I was there and simply thought my fellow tribute was speaking.

"A THREE? HOW CAN I EVEN _WORK_ WITH A THREE? YOU DIDN'T EVEN _TRY!_" Eyes locked on the terrified face of my friend I sprinted towards her, pushing past Haymitch who finally noticed my presence.

"Sam!" He bellowed. "What are you doing?"

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" I suddenly shouted, reaching Tina and throwing my body across hers. As I made contact she whimpered and I realised bits of glass were stuck into her thigh.

"_STAY AWAY FROM HER_?" Haymitch yelled back. "THIS GIRL HAS WRITTEN HER _DEATH SENTENCE_! _NOBODY_ WILL SPONSOR HER NOW!" Tina's whole body was shaking against mine – I felt her hand grip against my arm and wondered if this was what I had looked like to the Gamemakers – if my friend would have been so eager for my protection ten minutes before.

"YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE! PUT DOWN THE DRINK!" Haymitch let out a booming laugh – a laugh that was now scarier than anything I had ever heard.

"PUT DOWN THE DRINK? YOU WANT ME TO _PUT DOWN THE __**DRINK**_?" Raising his hand up in the air he smashed the half full whiskey bottle against the table – Tina and I were showered with glass and the whiskey burned my eyes. Desperately trying to figure out an escape plan my eyes glanced towards the window we were crouched by. The glass looked much too strong to break through and if we did we plummeted to certain death – but what choice did we have against a raging Haymitch? If we made one wrong move he could kill us. Before the Games had even started.

"Haymitch, PLEASE!" I begged, now trying a different tactic. I was beginning to wonder whether we should make a run for it when suddenly Effie appeared at the door.

"Sam!" She cried out, seeing me sprawled across the floor. "Tina! HAYMITCH?" Immediately I sprung into action.

"Effie! Take Tina! Find the nearest doctor and send for help!" Beginning to get to my feet Tina screamed, clutching onto my clothes so I almost fell over again. Ignoring her terror I pulled her up myself, watching Haymitch spiral and spiral with every second.

"GO!" I screamed to my friend, thrusting her forward. As she staggered over to Effie I went with her, moving towards Haymitch until I blocked the distance between him and the door.

"Come Sam!" Effie pleaded, pushing Tina out into the main room but leaving the door open. "Quickly!"

"No! I replied, pushing her out with one hand and feeling the hot stale breath of Hamish on my other. "You go! Find help!" As I slammed the door shut behind me I heard the screams of two women. Then I turned back round and saw my mentor bearing down on me.

"YOU LET HER GET AWAY!" He screamed. "YOU LET THE COWARD GET AWAY!" He lunged with his hands towards my neck but I knew what was coming. Ducking out of the way I watched him slam into the wall, then cry out in pain. When he turned round again I was ready, gripping hold of his shoulders and slamming him against the wall.

"You can't treat her like this!" I shouted, my face inches from my mentor's. "You can't take away the last shread of hope she has! She'll kill herself!"

"She's going to kill herself anyway!" Haymitch hollered back. "I can see it! And if you carry on defending her, you'll kill yourself too!" Suddenly the anger in Haymitch's eyes dissipated. For a second I wondered if he'd simply burnt out, before seeing his eyes roll back and realising that he was about to pass out. Stepping forward I caught him before he fell, seeing a large slice of glass sticking out of the side of his head as he slumped towards me and them guiding him slowly to the floor.


	8. The Preparation For Interviews

**Chapter 8 - The Preparation For Interviews**

Nobody spoke for a while after the incident.

Effie wanted me to get help but I told the doctors to go to Haymitch and went straight to my room. Eventually they came to see me and my hand was strapped up, but the mental scars still remained. What the hell had happened? Obviously Tina had scored badly in the Gamemaker show – I was guessing a three – and Haymitch had reacted badly. More than badly. I suppose to him a three was like giving up. Tina probably hadn't even tried. What use was a good score when you didn't want to kill anyway? The fear in her eyes though – the way Haymitch had shouted, _attacked_ her. I was scared this was the act that would push her back so she never returned.

* * *

Dinner was a forgotten affair – I went to bed on an empty stomach but figured it would be good practice for the arena. My hand had begun to throb from the small shallow cuts that covered it so I closed my eyes to block out the pain. Tomorrow signalled the interviews – our last chance to get sponsors. How was I supposed to pull myself together? How was _Haymitch_ supposed to pull himself together? I was just about to roll over and attempt some sleep when my door opened slowly and I looked up to see who was entering. I had expected to see Effie, maybe a doctor to check on my wounds or even a grovelling and repentant Haymitch. Instead I saw my tribute partner.

"Tina?" I asked curiously, wondering if I had somehow fallen asleep and was dreaming. My friend crept forward, the bandages on her arms visible in the low light from the window, and climbed onto the bed.

"Hi Sam." She whispered, sounding amazingly calm given what had happened. Maybe they had given her some drugs. "Are you asleep?"

"No." I replied, bringing my hand up to run through my hair. Tina looked at me for a few seconds, her eyes saying something unwordable – something like thanks.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" She asked quietly. "I mean, can I sleep next to you?"

"Sure." I said, my voice beginning to get a little drowsy now we were mentioning the subject. Crawling over Tina settled herself next to me on the bed. At first she lay beside me, but then tentatively she shuffled her body closer until it was pressing against me, our body heat connecting. I brought an arm up to wrap round her shoulders and she settled her face into the crook of my neck.

It was funny how used to this position I was. I had lain this way countless times with Stacey – comforting her from a nightmare or shadow on the wall. I had even slept with mother like this after father had died. And here I was again, the only salvation for another scared young girl. What if I murdered Tina like that dummy? What if my anger overtook me and her body was left to ruins? The Gamemakers show was hidden from the public but everyone would see me in the arena. How could I live with my family, with myself, if they saw me kill someone like that? Shifting in my sleep I felt Tina stir beside me. Her hand lay upon my chest – nothing sexual, just searching for comfort. I'd managed to save her. _And_ I'd saved Haymitch – I hadn't attacked him even though we'd both be angry. Maybe if I could channel it – maybe if I could find a way to _control_ my anger – I'd be ok.

* * *

The next morning I awoke groggy and disorientated. I patted the space next to me on the bed, expecting to feel a warm body, but it was empty. When I hauled myself up to my feet and trudged into the main room Tina was sat at the table eating breakfast.

"Morning!" Effie exclaimed happily like she normally did. As I made my way over, rubbing my face with my hands and trying to flatten down my hair Tina smiled at me, and when I arrived I saw she had made and buttered me some toast.

"Thanks." I said, sitting down and taking a bite. Tina didn't reply but I could tell she was pleased I liked it.

"Did you sleep well?" Effie asked. For a second I wondered if she was alluding to the fact Tina and I had shared the same bed, so looked over to my friend, but when she discreetly shrugged her shoulders I simply nodded. The absence of Haymitch from the table was noticeable but nobody made any comment on it.

"Interviews today!" Effie exclaimed excitedly after some more eating. There didn't seem to be any part of the Hunger Games that didn't enthral her completely. Sometimes her endless sense of optimism was something I craved. I was about to make a comment back, possibly ask a question, when suddenly a door opened and Haymitch walked into the room. He looked terrible. The cuts on his arms still looked sore – there were bruises on his hands from where he'd hit things and he had a fat lip and a black eye. For a second I felt a wave of sympathy for my mentor rush over me, but then I remembered what he had done to achieve such injuries and it diminished slightly.

As he walked over the whole table fell silent. Not even Effie – as cheery as a bird on a summer's day – made any comment. Haymitch settled himself down on a chair, wincing slightly at the impact, and then reached for some food.

"Orange juice?" Effie asked, holding up the jug. It seemed her vow of silence hadn't lasted long. Haymitch nodded and she poured him a glass. As I chewed nervously on my toast I glanced over at Tina and saw her staring down at her food. I knew she was trying to hide the fear in her eyes – block out the memory of what her mentor had done to her. Haymitch took a sip of the juice and then went to pick up some bacon, but suddenly stopped.

"Look…" He began, catching us all off guard. "I'm sorry-"

"Would you like any toast?" The words stopped everybody in their tracks. Tina had lifted her head up, a _smile_ on her face, and offered our mentor some food. For a second Haymitch was stunned, not knowing what to say. Had she accepted his apology?

"Er…yes please." He replied. Passing over some toast Tina returned swiftly back to her food, pausing to give me a glance as she sat back down as if to wonder why we all looked so stunned.

* * *

The idea that Tina had miraculously forgiven Haymitch for his drunken actions was completely washed away when it was revealed that she wished not to have counselling from him before the interviews. Therefore it was arranged that Effie would coach her for the whole day, and I would receive his services instead.

Whilst I was happy my tribute partner was in a safe and secure environment, the thought of spending at least 8 hours in a room with the man that had drunkenly tried to attack me didn't fill me with much joy. So it was with apprehension that I approached the door and knocked.

* * *

It was stupid to have our meeting in this room. They hadn't even cleared out all the glass yet – small fragments of it still visible in the light as I moved. But there had been no other options so I was forced to sit down metres from the spot where I had feared for my life. Haymitch ran his hands over his face several times before he spoke. There were dark rings under his eyes and I imagined he hadn't slept in a long time.

"Look man…" He began after a while, the words obviously painful to say "…I'm sorry."

"It's not me who you should be apologising to." My mentor sighed, pushing back his dirty, greasy hair, and shook his head.

"I know."

"You had no right to talk to Tina like that." I continued, wanting to make my point whilst I had the upper hand. "No right. Even if she did disappoint you."

"But that score man…" Running his hands down his thighs Haymitch scrunched his eyes up, as if he were reliving something painful. "That score… Do you know how many people have won the Hunger Games with a score like that?" Unable to answer the question, I shook my head. "One. A boy from District 3 scored that same number. It was a flukey win. If Tina doesn't look like she's capable, _nobody _will sponsor her. She will _die_."

"Have you ever thought perhaps some people _aren't_ capable? That maybe these games are forcing people to do unnatural things that their bodies aren't programmed to do?" I was trying to make a statement but Haymitch scoffed, waving his hand at me in disgust.

"Of _course_ it's unnatural. Do you think _I_ wanted to kill people? I had as much trouble as you getting my head around it. But I did." Sitting back into my chair I thought carefully about the response. I guess we did have no choice. Kill or be killed.

"_You _however…" Bringing the conversation back to his subject Haymitch leant forward, suddenly a little more happy, "…with a ten – we can work with that."

A ten? At first the number didn't signify anything in my head. I figured Haymitch was just rambling and I would have to check his breath for alcohol soon. But then it dawned on me.

"I scored a _ten_?" I'd never looked at my score when I'd entered the building. The drama of Tina and my mentor had taken me off the thought completely – and then I'd gone straight to bed. _A ten_?

"You certainly did buddy!" Haymitch now looked like an excited puppy. "I don't know what you did in there but those Gamemakers loved it. The Careers all got tens. _You matched the Careers_!" Abruptly my thoughts went back to the performance. I was pretty sure my plant knowledge hadn't gotten me into double figures – so was it my attack on the dummy? Had my anger made me a threat?

"Oh, great." I responded. Haymitch's elation diminished slightly as he realised my reluctance to celebrate.

"Sam, this is a great thing. I can squeeze those sponsors for everything they've got with a score like that. They could save your life out there." I didn't want to think about that. The fact that I might be on deaths door, that I might need some fat rich Capitolite to bail me out. "The Careers might even ask you to join them."

"No." I replied abruptly, almost laughing at the thought. "They won't." If my stunt with the plate in the training arena was anything to go by, combined with my attempted fight with District 4 boy, I was definitely not an ally with the Careers.

"You never know." Haymitch added, still sounding annoyingly optimistic. His hand reached out to grasp something, a glass filled with water, and for a second I flinched – but he simply took a sip and then placed it safely back down on the table.

"You've gotta stop this protecting of Tina though." He suddenly continued, changing the topic of the conversation once again. "People are gonna think you're soft, or that you're doing it to hide some big weakness of yours."

"No." I replied, before I'd even worked out what I was going to say. "Absolutely not. Protecting people is what _my_ body is programmed to do. I have a mother and two siblings to look after after all." When I'd finished speaking I wondered if this was the nail in my coffin. That, after insulting my mentor and calling him out on a number of things, he would finally take my words as rebellion and kick me out. Instead, Haymitch laughed.

"Now _that_," he said, pointing his finger at me and grinning from ear to ear, "is what we're gonna use in your interview."

* * *

For the next few hours we talked about my strategy. I was to present myself as a family man. I would focus on mother and my siblings – talking about how I was used to supporting them – wanted to win so I could make their lives better and return to them. I could even talk about my desire to start my own family when I was older, although I had no prominent thoughts on this in real life at all. I was to make it clear that my caring nature could be used as a vicious weapon (something I knew about already but didn't want to divulge) and that I was not, under any circumstances, to be overlooked. Haymitch trained me on every aspect of the interview – how to sit, how to stand, how to talk, how to smile not too much but enough to bring the people into your life and how to make them want you to win. By the end of the afternoon I felt like I could take on anything, like I could actually win this.

* * *

Dinner was an interesting affair. I'd asked Tina about her interview training but she hadn't told me much. A brief discussion with Effie had caused her to sigh deeply and stress how sorry she felt for the poor girl and her endless struggles. I was beginning to feel that she needed a Haymitch kick up the ass, but then noticed I had begun to take on the traits of my mentor myself. As we sat and ate from yet another bountiful feast, it felt rather like a divorced mother and father sitting down with their estranged children – each one supporting a different side.

"Remember, this is your _last_ chance to get sponsors." Haymitch said as we ate, addressing both of us. "You need to convince the public you can win. Make them _love _you." Glancing across at Tina I saw her staring down at her food, her face cold. Wanting to keep supporting her I didn't say anything in return, but gave a knowing glance to my mentor to tell him I understood.

* * *

The night-time drew in. Tina and I were sent down to our stylists yet again for another outfit that would wow the Capitol crowd. Cinna and I exchanged light chatter as he got me dressed, but I was focused mostly on the task ahead. The crowd wanted to be wowed, and I would do it.


	9. The Lights Of The Stadium

**Chapter 9 - The Lights Of The Stadium**

The noise in the stadium was deafening again. Thousands had assembled to watch the interviews in the centre of the Capitol – thousands more would be forced to watch on their TVs at home. I pictured Mother, Stevie and Stacey sat around the flickering TV set in our next-door neighbour Bobby Price's front room. Maybe they had the pick of the TVs now, along with Tina's family. Maybe they were together. I still hadn't had much chance to talk to my district partner about her interview – I was gathering she would go for the scared girl look, or perhaps even the girl that was hiding something underneath her vulnerable exterior. I knew Effie would have come up with something – whether Tina could actually go through it however was another matter. When we convened in the stylist corridor she looked breathtaking – I was sure District 12 had been assigned the best designers of them all. I smiled and complimented her but she didn't say anything back, just slipped her hand into mine as we were lead off towards the stadium.

* * *

All the tributes were required to wait in a waiting room just off the main stage of the stadium. We would be sent out in district order – girls first – and be given three minutes to be quizzed. It was the first time since training that we were all together again, and the small screen in the darkened room allowed us to watch our opponents at work.

* * *

When we entered everyone turned to look at us again. As the last district on stage, there hadn't been much of a rush to get our costumes prepared, so we were late again. I expected somebody to make a comment rather like the one we'd received upon entry at training, but surprisingly nothing came. The Careers all looked stunning in their costumes, and I couldn't help but notice the glares they shot me as I stepped inside.

"Ah! Sam and Tina!" A small man that I had never seen before rushed over to us and immediately began babbling about the schedule. Behind him on the TV screen Caesar Flickerman - the radically dressed and blue haired front man for the interviews – made jokes and whipped the crowd into a frenzy. From previous interviews I had seen on the TV it seemed that Caesar was on the side of the tributes – if they got stuck he would word his responses in a way that made them favoured again. Realising that the small man had finished and glancing over at Tina to confirm he had told us nothing we didn't already know, we were lead over to a small bench and told to sit down. It seemed strange for people of our 'status' to be given such a poor seat, especially with our extravagant costumes, but then again, this was behind the scenes. Many of the other tributes had immediately chosen to stand however, obviously also viewing this as an insult.

* * *

When Tina and I were left in peace I saw she still hadn't let go of my hand. I was about to engage her in conversation when I saw the smirking face of District 4 boy and scowled.

"Hey baby." He said to Tina. His words weren't meant in an affectionate manner and I bristled. "What do you plan on doing for the cameras tonight?" He asked. "Crying?"

"_Back off."_ I hissed, not getting to my feet but straightening up slightly and fixing the boy with the meanest glare I could imagine. Amazingly for a brief second his eyes turned fearful, looking towards me in a way that could only suggest he had seen my ten as much as the other tributes had. Then it was quickly replaced by malice again.

"Oh, I forgot." He said with a sneer. "You have your little_ Prince Charming_ to wipe up your tears for you." I knew he was trying to coax me into another fight, but I ignored the prospect and eventually he got bored and wandered back to his station. Caesar had finished his opening speech so the introductions were made and the doors opened to allow Rachel out onto the stage.

I suddenly realised that this was District 1 – that these, along with District 2, would probably be my biggest competition in the tournament. I could tell Tina wanted to talk to me but suddenly found me eyes fixed to the screen.

* * *

Rachel looked elegant but deadly in her outfit. Her stylist had obviously wanted to highlight her slender curves, but she had been dressed only in black and red – perhaps symbolizing her heart. I wondered if any of the cruel vindictive girl that had tricked the District 11 girl in training would come out, but she was amazingly sweet and sexy. She obviously had this act down to a tee – something that couldn't simply have been coached in one day. Every question Caesar threw at her was met with a cool response and it wasn't long before the three minutes rang out and a buzzer sounded. Rachel rose from her seat, making sure to show off her dress, and then moved to sit down in one of the 24 much grander chairs that had been lined out on the stage.

"Next we have the male tribute from District 1 – Blaine Anderson!" Suddenly I realised who was up next. Flashing my head over I realised in horror that he had been staring at me – his eyes fixed on me with a look I couldn't understand, but was now being ushered onto stage. When he met the stadium lights the crowd went wild – like they were actually looking at a superstar, and Blaine waved to the cameras like a king. I felt my fists clench together uncontrollably and realised I needed to watch every second of this interview, to work out the potential weaknesses of the boy I wanted to kill.

"Blaine, come and sit down." Caesar said with a beaming smile. Blaine walked over and went to shake his hand, but instead did some strange hi five combination that I could only guess had been worked out beforehand, or Caesar was extremely quick to copy. As he positioned himself on the interview chair their was an air of smugness that made my blood boil.

"Sam…" Tina suddenly said, resting the back of her hand on my forehead. "You're burning up." I batted her away, not wanting her fawning at this moment and trained my eyes on the screen.

"So Blaine…" Caesar began, straightening the collar of his shirt. "It must have been rough getting picked in the same reaping as your cousin." So I guessed they were going with the cousin thing. They must be using this angle to their advantage as otherwise Caesar wouldn't have mentioned it, so I was intrigued as to what would be said.

"Yes." Blaine replied, already exuding confidence. "The odds definitely were not in our favour that day." A couple of crowd members awwed and I wanted to be sick. "But there's nobody better for the job than Rachel." A glance back at his partner saw her touch her chest in a sentimental way. Bleurgh.

"How do you think you will feel having to come up against her?"

"Well, I can't say it won't be difficult, but Rachel and I have had our fair share of tussles in the back yard of our estate." Some of the audience laughed again. I couldn't get over the word 'estate' and how casually it had been used when some of us were starving.

"And who won those fights?" Caesar asked, nodding his head and smiling. Blaine pretended to look around to see if anyone was listening (which they obviously were) leant forward and whispered loudly in his ear.

"I did." Rachel immediately pretended to look shocked – Blaine shrugged his shoulders and the crowd went wild. I couldn't believe they were lapping up this rubbish. Blaine and Rachel would probably band together with the other Careers, callously murder 10 or so tributes and then no doubt turn on themselves when the numbers got low enough. This idea that they were _friends_ was despicable.

"And with a ten in training you must have some special skills up your sleeve." Caesar continued, obviously loving this interview. "Tell me – what is your secret weapon?"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly give that away." Blaine replied, even waving his hand in the air as he spoke. "But if you give me your support, I'm sure I will surprise you." That was the hook. Blaine would have to insult every Capitol member's mother not to get sponsors now. They loved to see power and they _loved_ to be surprised. He had them hook, line and sinker.

* * *

The rest of Blaine's interview was agony to watch simply because he was a master at it. Suddenly I began to feel less confident about my own training, before I remembered that this was the boy I was supposed to hate. He was trying to intimidate me and it was working. Realising watching the screen wasn't doing me any good I turned to Tina and saw her also transfixed.

"What a jerk off." I said, mainly more to myself than her. A couple of the other tributes looked in my direction but I obviously looked so pissed off they decided not to try anything.

* * *

The other interviews went by swiftly. Puck and Quinn played their romance to the crowd – everybody lapped it up like it was ice cream. The District 2 boy talked about the struggles of seeing the person he loved at risk and it made me think of what I would do if it were Stacey fighting against me. Not fake some tears and use the bottom of my tight fitting shirt to wipe my face and show off my amazing six pack in the process.

The District 3 boy, Artie, was a little strange. He was obviously extremely intelligent, but his personality didn't exude much and as a result he came off rather blankly to the cameras. I knew he was still a threat though, and didn't write him off as many of the other competitors seemed to. When Sebastian left for the District 4 interviews I was glad, he had been shooting me looks all evening. His partner was equally as snide – a girl called Sugar who lived up to her name on camera but was anything but off it. As the boy from District 5 watched his partner talk about the complexities of training I suddenly saw him turn to me and fix me with a pointed stare. For a second I wondered if I was doing anything unusual, but I had only been watching her interview with half interest.

"Is there a problem?" I asked after a while, frustrated by the concentrate look in his eyes. The boy titled his head to the side slightly, held it for a few seconds and then replied.

"I'm just working out how to kill you." Before I had time to answer, the buzzer sounded and he was ushered onto the stage, but the exchange left me feeling cold inside.

The only other tributes I had identified as ones to watch were Finn, his partner Santana and Jake and Sunshine. Joe had come off as easy going but not really a vicious killer and the two tributes from District 11 – I still couldn't get over how young they were. The bright stadium lights practically blinded the poor girl and all I could think of was Stacey, Stacey, Stacey.

* * *

When it was Tina's turn I found her clutching my hand tighter than she had all evening.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." I whispered to her. We both walked up to the mouth of the stadium together and then I gave her one final squeeze before she was released and lead out to the sound of her own name. She immediately raised her hand to block out the blaring stage lights upon her entry – a bad move – but then somehow managed to turn this into a wave. Maybe she would be ok.

"Tina, Tina, Tina…" Caesar began. My friend seemed a little confused over his tone, but tried not to show it. "We all saw your reaping." Immediately the crowd began to aww and sob. "The pain of being torn apart from the ones you love." Why was he doing this? Caesar had obviously been given instructions by Haymitch on what to talk about, but this was a bad route to go down. Reminding Tina of her reaping would do nothing but distress her. I could see my friend struggling to keep it together – immediately I wanted to rush onto the stage and protect her but realised she had to do this on her own.

"Yes." She replied, her voice a little shaky so she had to cough to settle it down. "It was hard."

"I hear you have a boyfriend back home?" Caesar asked, his tone now a little more gentle as he realised her struggle.

"I do." Tina replied. "His name is Mike. Joe said some nice things to me in the training arena but I would never leave my Mike." The crowd awwed as Joe pretended to look embarrassed and I realised what was happening. Tina was doing it.

"Ah, unrequited love." Caesar joked, looking over at our dreadlocked friend. "I know how it feels. But it's lovely that you have someone to fight for. Someone to come home to." Tina nodded, a fixed smile still on her face. I found myself gripping the side of the wall I was standing by, willing her to pull through.

"Yes. When Mike and I said our final goodbyes at the station he told me that…" Suddenly Tina's expression wavered. A single tear dripped down her face and onto her dress.

"He told me that…" The audience were beginning to respond, awws ringing out and hands being clutched to chests. But I knew something was wrong. This wasn't acting,

"What did he tell you Tina?"

"He told me that I had to stay alive. No matter what. That if I had to kill someone…I would." The tears were beginning to fall thick and fast now and even Caesar was beginning to notice. My foot inched forward, almost moving into the light, ready to leap out if I was needed.

"Wise words from Mike there. Sad, but true words."

"But I _can't_ kill someone!" Tina suddenly shouted. I realised then that all hope of keeping to the script had gone. "I can't just _take away_ a life! It's not natural to me!" The producers were beginning to panic. Tina couldn't be stopped now, the conversation couldn't be brought back. There was still a minute left on her clock.

"You can't choose people randomly from a bowl and expect them to turn into _murderers!_ It's not ethical! I can't fight!" The audience were beginning to murmur, some of them gasp. I could see the faces of the Gamemakers tense and their hands grip tightly onto their canes.

"No Tina." I breathed, trying not to let my voice get too loud but trying also to communicate the message to her telepathically. "No, stop this. You'll ruin it…"

"I want to survive, I want to survive for Mike but I won't do it! I won't _kill_ an innocent person!"

* * *

Suddenly the buzzer sounded. A look up at the clock saw we still had 40 seconds left. But Tina had been cut off. Abruptly Capitol guards pushed past me, as they stormed over to Tina I lurched forward but another set held me back, their grip tight. I wondered in horror if they were about to kill her there and then, but confusingly they just put something under her nose, blocking her from view to the audience, and then caught her as she collapsed onto the floor.

"Oh my goodness!" Caesar exclaimed, his face working to keep the strain and confusion out of his expression. He looked like he was being fed information from another person. "I've just been told that Tina was experiencing a seizure. Capitol doctors have come onto the stage and-!" The soldiers moved away to reveal a slumped Tina and the audience gasped. _No way_. There was no way they believed this. The soldiers looked nothing like doctors – they were dressed in black! No doctor handled a patient the way they did. But as Tina was hauled over to her chair, unconscious yet again, the audience truly believed she had collapsed. They could even attribute her last words to the seizure. Even the other tributes seemed shocked over the obvious deception.

* * *

Suddenly a man I had never seen before rushed into the waiting room and tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned round he had an urgent look on his face.

"Message from Haymitch. You need to salvage this else the whole game goes up in smoke. And Tina is dead." Without even a chance for me to ask questions, have anything explained, a hand pressed into my back and shoved me forward.


	10. The Words To Save Your Comrades

**Chapter 10 - The Words To Save Your Comrades**

As I stumbled forward onto the stage, almost losing my balance completely, the audience went completely silent. My name hadn't been announced yet – I wasn't even supposed to be on screen. But again, saving the day, Caesar picked up my slack.

"My my, he just can't wait to get onto the stage! Our 24th and final tribute, from District 12 – Sam Evans!" The crowd applauded, some of them even cheered, and I straightened myself up before realising what was about to happen. The Gamemakers were angry – Tina had questioned their creation. She had screwed up. And now it was my job to fix it. I looked up at the balconies above the large screens that now displayed my bemused face. The Gamemakers stared down at me with callous eyes, ready to push the self-destruct button if I made one false move. It wasn't just my life in my hands right now. There were 23 other peoples. Flicking my eyes over to the tributes I saw them rigid in their seats. The two young tributes from District 11 stared in horror at the slumped body of Tina beside them – could I end their short lives with just one word? Feeling my legs begin to shake, I tried to steady myself but Caesar came over and guided me to my seat.

* * *

"So…" He began. I could tell he was as nervous as I was – he always knew exactly what to say, never had to deal with anything like this. But now we both had been thrown into the unknown. "That must have been a little distressing." Distressing? What did he mean _distressing_? It had been much more than that. I wondered for a second whether my host had given up completely, that he was going to sentence us all to death. Then he continued.

"Seeing your district partner collapse like that. Her illness must be pretty serious." It took a second to click in my brain but then I realised. The seizures. I was supposed to make a comment on it, back up the lie.

"Yes…" I replied, my brain desperately trying to think of a suitable response. My voice sounded cracked and dry, like I hadn't used it for several years. "Tina has been having a lot of trouble recently with her…seizures." Glancing over at the Gamemakers positioned over my head, they nodded. This was good. "She says the strangest things. One time she told me she thought the whole arena was going to be filled with giant pink bugs!" The audience burst into laughter and I realised it was working. I was convincing them.

"My my, what a strange condition." Caesar replied, an equally relieved look on his face. "I hope it doesn't affect her in the arena."

"Me too." I replied, before suddenly wondering if it was wrong to show solidarity.

"But anyway," my host continued, "enough about Tina. Let's talk about _you_."

* * *

Now that I knew we were almost out of the woods, I relaxed a little. My grip on the golden chair I was sitting in lessened and I evened out my breathing. Then I realised I still had an interview to do.

"Many of the people I've spoken to can't figure you out Sam." Caesar began. I wondered where he was going with this, but figured it must be good again. And I was intrigued.

"Oh really?" I replied. My interested voice wasn't really convincing, but the crowd seemed to buy it.

"Yes. Your strength is obvious, and your looks-" A couple of screams rang out and my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "But there's something else about you. Something you haven't shown anybody yet." Instantly my blood went cold. Was he referring to the Gamemaker show? None of that information had been made public, and we were forbidden to talk about it, but still? Did he know about my anger?

"Oh don't look so worried Sam." Caesar replied, obviously noticing my reaction. "Everybody has their little secrets. That's what makes these games so intriguing." The crowd murmured in approval and I resumed normal breathing again. I certainly didn't want my family to know about my little dummy incident. I didn't want anybody to know about that, _ever_. Caesar went to move the conversation forward, take it down another avenue, when suddenly a girl at the front of the crowd shouted out something.

"We love you Sam!" The exclamation caught me completely off guard. The camera zoomed into my shocked face and then showed the girl – her eyes filled with adoration.

"Well well." Caesar said, chuckling to himself. "It seems you have a lot of admirers Sam!" I still couldn't get over the incident. Whilst it was common for the Careers to receive cries of adulation, it was pretty much unheard of anywhere else. I had _fans_?

"In fact I've been hearing a lot of the ladies mention you in conversation – any girl at home they should all feel jealous of?" The question had me stumped for a second. I had been expecting to be asked about my family – not _girls_.

* * *

Back in District 12 I'd been quite popular at school, with a few friends. But girls had been another story. Whilst the unconditional love that came with being in a family bloomed easily in me – I found it hard to connect with anyone in a sexual way. I had been kissed at parties, gone on dates with the odd girl, but had never _felt_ anything. My thoughts were always too focused on what food I would collect for my family's dinner, or how I would fix the toy that Stevie or Stacey had broken.

* * *

Caesar was obviously waiting for an answer – I had paused over the question more than was normal. Letting out a small nervous chuckle I shook my head.

"No. I've never had a girlfriend." Awws rang out over the stadium, with even a few more squeals.

"Well, I find that hard to believe." My host smiled and I knew he was actually complimenting me. "You seem to care a lot about Tina – any romance there?" Not again. They really were determined to push this thing between me and my district partner. Maybe my protection towards her was unusual for tributes, so they were trying to dust it off with a declaration of love.

"No, we're just friends. Her boyfriend is in my history class." The same words I'd spoken to Effie had a completely different reaction with the crowd. They all awwed, cooed, cheered. I was being honourable towards my friend. This was working.

"That's very noble of you Sam." Caesar replied. I could tell why many people liked him – him and Cinna were the two most genuine people I'd met in the Capitol. "So if you're not fighting for the love of a girl – what are you fighting for?" This was the question I had been waiting for, the question Haymitch had told me would be my gold one.

"My family." I replied. The crowd fell silent again, knowing they were about to hear something interesting.

"Do you have a big family Sam?"

"Not really. I have my mother and my younger brother and sister Stevie and Stacey. He's 9, she's 15."

"Ah, so only one eligible for selection then." I knew we were going to have to talk about Stacey and the subject was a raw one for me, but I pushed through it.

"Yes. I don't know what I'd have done if Stacey had been selected."

"You certainly couldn't have volunteered for her." Caesar replied.

"I would have tried to." The crowd were silent again – thousands of emotional faces staring back at me.

"What did you say to her, before you arrived at the Capitol?" I bit my lip. I was going to have to lie, I couldn't relive our actual conversation – it was too painful. But I knew what to say.

"I told her not to worry, that I would be safe. The Games may seem harsh and cruel, but they serve as a lesson to all of us. That no matter how hard it gets, with a strong hand to guide us we can always make it through." The Gamemaker's faces dropped in amazement. Not only had I made everyone forget about Tina, I'd _advocated _the Games. But in a way that would let everyone who didn't reside in the Capitol know what I really meant.

"And the strong hand is…?" Caesar asked, intrigued.

"My love for my family." I replied honestly. Everyone else would think it was the Capitol, but I knew what it was.

"How far would you go to protect your family Sam?" Caesar questioned. I went to answer immediately but saw him very slightly raise his hand, signalling for me to wait. "What would you _do_?" I paused, letting the suspense grow, letting every person watching on their TVs rise in anticipation.

"I would do _anything_."

* * *

When the interviews were over, all the tributes were lead along the front of the stage, allowing the audience to see us one final time before we were then ushered back into the waiting room. My heart was pumping from all the adrenaline and when I saw Haymitch he ran over and hoisted me up into his arms.

"You did it!" He exclaimed, happier than I'd seen him in a long time. "You saved everybody's lives!" The other tributes looked upon our embrace with disgust. When I met eyes with a few of the non careers some of them even looked away from me, in fear. Was I _feared _now?

"Where is Tina?" I asked, suddenly noticing the absence of my friend.

"She's gone." Haymitch replied, adding "back to the home building" before I could make any complaint. I guessed she was probably still unconscious, and there was no way anybody from the Games would want her doing any press when she woke up. As Haymitch clutched onto my hand I realised I was his last hope now. I had saved everybody with my interview and now in the arena I would try to save myself.

* * *

As I sat in my bedroom trying to prepare to sleep I felt a little ashamed of myself. Yes I'd performed well in the interview – better than I could have dreamed – but surely I was a puppet of the Capitol now? Surely, just as I'd looked at Blaine's jokes and smiles in disgust, people were looking at me like that right now? I'd advocated the Games after all, said they were a lesson to all of us. But I hadn't meant it like that, I'd just been trying to save my friends. And it had worked. We were still here – ready to fight each other to the death starting tomorrow.

* * *

As I swung my legs into bed but knew my heart would not stop racing for a good while, a knock sounded at my door and it opened to reveal Effie.

"Sorry Sam." She said, as if she had just woken me from sleep. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your interview. You really pulled us out of a hole." Shuffling to sit upright I saw the sad glint in her eye and knew what she meant. The hole was Tina.

"Is she ok?" I asked.

"Yes. They took her straight back here once the interviews had finished. I've been looking after her."

"Can I see her?" Effie looked conflicted.

"She's asleep right now. Probably best not to wake her." Nodding in understanding I pulled the covers up and wished for tiredness to come. I needed to get all the rest I could for tomorrow. I would need my strength.

"Is she going to be ok?" Suddenly Effie spoke again. The question shocked me, not just because of it's suddenness, but because the light cheery tone of Effie's voice had gone. She sounded worried.

"Tina?" I asked. She nodded and I understood what she meant. Would Tina survive in the arena? Would she survive until tomorrow?

"Yes." I replied. "She will." My voice was confident, confident enough to make her smile, bid me goodnight and close the door. When I turned over and made an attempt to close my eyes I knew I had no idea.


	11. The Beginning Of The Games

**Chapter 11 - The Beginning Of The Games**

Today was the day. I'd wondered about this day for many years. Not for myself, but for the hundreds of other people that had gone through it. As I'd sat and watched the opening few minutes of the bloodbath (never more than that – once the tributes met and people started dying Mother always turned off the TV, not wanting Stevie or Stacey to see.) I'd always wondered what must be going through the heads of the tributes – the children picked out of nowhere and forced into a few weeks of hell. I'd wondered what they'd thought when they'd woken up, when they'd eaten their breakfast, when they'd been forced into those little glass cylinders and had risen up into what was probably their certain death. I'd wondered intently for those couple of minutes – then I'd stood up from my seat and forgotten. Now that child was me.

* * *

I discovered quickly the emotions felt by a tribute on game day. Firstly, you didn't eat. At all. Haymitch tried desperately to shove some food and drink down my throat, telling me over and over again that I'd be begging for it in the arena, but it wouldn't go down. I also found myself unable to focus on one particular thing for more than a second. If I was concentrating on buttering a bit of toast, my knife suddenly became a dagger and the bread another tribute, forcing me to quickly set it down and pick up something else. I knew this behaviour was probably worrying, but Haymitch and Effie didn't seem too perplexed. This must be how everybody acted. Tina didn't surface for breakfast for hours and I figured she must be sleeping, but when she eventually did arrive her eyes looked tired and red, like she'd been crying. She hadn't been sleeping at all – but hiding from us. What was to come. After Effie tried, and failed, to do the same thing Haymitch had with me in regards to food, we were told to shower and dress in causal clothes. Of course we would be given outfits to wear in the arena, but I used this as an opportunity to feel comfortable in something I was wearing for the last time. The khaki slacks reminded me of the ones I wore at home when I got back from school and I stretched the tight fitting t-shirt out enough that the collar was a little gaping, but I at least felt like my chest wasn't on display. When I entered the room that housed the elevator Haymitch smirked at my attempt at DIY.

"Didn't like the clothes?" He asked, pointing to my shirt.

"They were a little constricting." There was silence for a second, then we both laughed.

When Tina arrived she said nothing to Haymitch. I was a little sad that she was going to end her time with our mentor still on bad terms, but I suppose to her what he had done was unforgivable. Effie offered to come with us to the end but it wasn't necessary – when I held her close as she hugged me I realised how fragile she was – that underneath all that chirpiness and precision she was just as sad about losing us as we were.

* * *

The elevator journey felt longer than usual. We did it in silence, which probably added to the time, and when the doors pinged open Haymitch strode out, leaving me and Tina inside. Glancing over I saw her eyes desperate with fear – I reached my hand out to hers and she gripped it with not one but both of them.

"Come on guys." Haymitch said, rather gruffly, which I guessed was his attempt at hiding the equally crushing sadness he felt over leaving us. Gently tugging Tina along, I followed him to the stairs – a route we had never taken before – and realised we were heading to the hovercraft station. The walls were dark and grey and reminded me that we would have no idea where we were being taken – until we popped up inside it. When we reached the dock Haymitch turned round and I finally saw tears in his eyes.

"This is it guys." He said, desperately trying to salvage what was left of his dignity. I let go of Tina for a brief second to step forward and give him a big hug. The feeling of his strong hands patting my back reminded me for a second of my father. Haymitch had become my father, but now I would be the one to die,

"Thanks for everything." I muttered in his ear as we embraced.

"Stay alive." He muttered back. "Then the only person you'll have to thank is yourself." When we finally stepped away I expected Tina not to do anything, but without warning she suddenly threw her arms around Haymitch too. The middle aged man looked shocked, and took a few seconds to respond, before lightly taking hold of her shoulders and patting them. Nothing was said between the pair, but they ended their feud.

"See you later guys!" Haymitch exclaimed as he was about to leave. We laughed, knowing this wasn't true. Even if one of us survived, we would never be together like this again.

"Don't forget those sponsors!" As the doors closed leaving Haymitch behind us, the heavy weight of what was about to hit us sunk onto my chest.

Then another weight pressed on me too.

* * *

"Sam!" Somehow I'd thought Tina had been alright when she'd reconciled with Haymitch – that she had finally accepted her fate and was ready. Abruptly and violently, I realised she had not.

"Sam I can't do this!" Looking down I saw her whole body shaking – Tina's face was white and the fear in her eyes had multiplied.

"Sssh!" I whispered, mainly to try and calm her but also because there were probably other tributes nearby, waiting to be taken. "Tina sssh! You can do this!"

"No I can't! They want me to kill people and I just can't!"

"Yes you can!" Gripping onto my friend's shoulders I tried desperately to speak those words that would finally bring her back from the edge. "You can and you _will_ because everybody has the will to survive! You need to get through this!"

"Tell Mike…" Tina began. "Tell Mike…"

"No! I will not tell him anything! It's not just you in that arena – you have me too and whoever we manage to team up with. We'll work together, we'll keep each other alive!" I had no idea if any of these things would actually happen – if anyone would actually want to be allies with someone as dangerous as me. But I wanted Tina to stay. "Please Tina, you have to stay. Not just for Mike, or your family, but for me too. _I need you_." It was finally the words she needed. Steadying her body Tina still clung to me, but her breathing slowed down and her fingers relaxed. Then she brought her lips to mine and kissed them.

"Thank you." She said suddenly. I was still a little shocked by the kiss. "Thank you. For everything." I was about to reply when suddenly the doors opened. Two separate hovercrafts floated above us and their ladders descended to us. As I gave one final look to Tina my hands grabbed the rope and my whole body was frozen. The ladders began to move and we were brought up into the craft – the doors closing and everything going dim. The next time I would see my friend, would be in the arena.

* * *

I wasn't sure how long we flew for and what speed we were going (for all I knew we could have been standing still) but eventually the doors opened again and the ladder took me back downwards. I was lowered into a small dark room and to my delight saw Cinna there waiting for me.

"Cinna!" I tried to say, before remembering that my lips were still frozen. I said it again once I was let free, giving him a hug. I seemed to be in a hugging mood today – maybe I viewed these people as my new family and wanted to show them I cared. Without even mentioning what was to come Cinna got me changed into my uniform. It was khaki, like my trousers had been, and red, with splashes of black here and there, and made of a strange stretchy material. Cinna seemed to suggest it would be good in the cold for me, but not the rain. I wondered if I was being given tight fitting clothing again but he assured me that everyone would be wearing the same. When I was finally suited up, the zips zipped and my big black boots buckled up, he handed me a pin.

"This is for you." He said. The pin was golden and shaped like a circle, with a small bird inside it. I recognised it instantly.

"Mother's mockingjay pin!" I exclaimed. "How did you…?"

"I have my ways." Cinna replied with a smile. Pinning it on my lapel he looked at me, somewhat wistfully. "I do hope they don't destroy you too much in there." He said after a while.

"That's assuming I last long enough for them to destroy me." I replied.

"Oh you will last." The words that followed confused me. "You will."

"How do you know?" I asked, unable to process it myself.

"I have my ways." Suddenly the glass tube began to descend around me. Fear instantly took hold of me – the thought of being trapped inside frightened me and the realisation of what it would take me to terrified me more.

"Cinna!" I said, my voice filled with nerves. My stylist, whom I had barely known more than a couple of days, but already felt like my closest friend, leapt to my side.

"Yes?"

"I'm scared." I replied, finally realising it for the first time. "I'm really scared."

"I know." Cinna said back. There was a cool calm edge to his voice that suggested I was dreaming, that this wasn't actually real. "I know you are. And that is why you will _win_." The glass descended over me fully, locking me in completely, then the tube began to rise and I was transported to the arena above me.

* * *

The arena was huge. For some reason I had expected the roar of crowds, but there was no sound here. Everyone was still encased in their tubes, and no-one was saying anything anyway. As I ascended I could see all the tributes were positioned in a circle around the cornucopia. It was shaped like a horn and encrusted with golden plates on the outside. Inside lay stacks and stacks of provisions – food, tools, weapons. Haymitch had told me to grab anything I could that was nearby after the claxon and then run as fast as I could to safety. I was _not_ to engage in any combat, nor go anywhere near the cornucopia. That was where the bloodbath was to occur, and I would not be a part of it. Around the outside of us I could see a thick forest of trees, something that made me glad I had spent so much time in the plant section. It would have been pretty useless in a desert. Now that we were almost fully risen I saw the other tributes readying themselves – taking deep breaths and shaking out their limbs. I tried to source out Blaine or any of the other Careers but they had obviously been positioned too far away for me to see. Three tubes away stood Tina – she looked ok but obviously hadn't noticed me.

Finally the tubes stopped rising. We would be given ten seconds to have a look around and then twenty seconds for the glass to be lifted up before the claxon. I waited for the countdown to begin, the thirty seconds that could signal the potential end of my life – the thirty seconds that would be mandatorily watched by every citizen of Panem – glued to their TV screens. It began.

"Thirty…" Immediately I went over my plan again in my head. I knew I had to get everything right, that there was no room for mistakes. My feet hovered near the edge of the circle, toes scratching against the rough surface. I wanted to get myself into a better starting position but was too scared of disturbing the force field. If any tribute stepped outside their circle before the thirty seconds were up they would instantly be blown to bits.

"Twenty-Five…" The glass tubes were rising now – to where I didn't know, but mine was almost at my waist. I looked across to see the District 8 girl next to me, her breathing heavy and her eyes dark. I was going to go over my plan in my head one final time, repeat every detail, when I noticed it.

Tina had found me. As soon as the tubes had started to rise her head had begun turning and when she located me she suddenly started shaking it. At first I thought she was just trying to get my attention but when I squinted my eyes and saw the look on her face I realised in horror what she meant.

* * *

"NO!" The shout made a couple of the tributes jump. My voice was still slightly muffled by the glass but I'd used my loudest volume. "TINA NO!" Tina continued to shake her head. My hands suddenly found myself pounding on the glass, it was coming over my neck now, would soon rise over my head. I knew what was going to happen when it did and I wanted to scream.

"DON'T DO THIS! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS TINA YOU CAN STAY STRONG! STAY WITH ME TINA!" Tina's head shaking became more fierce, she was crying and I could see her eyes still locked onto mine.

"TINA _PLEASE_! TINA _NO!_" A couple of the other tributes had started to ignore me – figuring this must be some attempt at a distraction – that Tina and I must have some kind of plan. There was no plan.

"Ten…" The voice from above counted down the final ten seconds – the tubes raised over our heads so we were free and I continued to scream until my lungs burned.

"TINA! _TINA NO_!"

"Five…four…three…"

On three Tina stepped out into the arena.


	12. The Destruction, Of Everything

**Chapter 12 - The Destruction...Of Everything**

The sound of the explosion blocked out my scream – the screams of many other tributes. Tina's body was blasted to bits by the landmine – flying high in the sky as my hopes scattered along with them around me.

And then the countdown fell to zero.

* * *

The claxon sounded and immediately I panicked. I had just watched my closest friend in the games be blown to pieces – no blow _herself_ to pieces. Suddenly every plan I'd had in my head disappeared. What had Haymitch said? Run to the cornucopia? Grab what? I was about to make a decision, my feet not even having left my plate yet, when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I spotted something whizzing towards me. Instinctively I ducked. The knife flew just inches over my head, spinning as it went. I was about to leap up, at least try and retrieve it, when there was the soft sound of contact and an 'oomph'. Turning to my left I saw in horror that by dodging the knife that was meant for me, it had impaled itself in the chest of another tribute. Joe.

"No!" I cried. Joe simply smiled, pointing at something behind me before staggering to the floor and dying instantly. As I spun round, figuring he must have been trying to warn me of something I saw the District 8 girl striding towards me, her teeth bared and another knife in her hand. Obviously she had been the one targeting me before – her eyes looked angry and I realised in horror I had nothing to defend myself with. The two District 12 tributes would die in a matter of minutes – one before the game had even started and one in a pool of blood with nothing to show for himself. Was this how I wanted my family to remember me? Unable to do anything but raise up my hands, I waited for the blow that would sever my life completely. Then suddenly the girl stopped. Her expression became blank, her head tilting slightly to the side – then I realised she had an axe embedded in the back of her skull. The blonde haired girl from District 2, Quinn, suddenly appeared behind her, her face splattered with blood. I expected her to remove the axe and then turn to me – the person she had accidentally saved – but to my shock she began beating District 8 girl's body to death. Again and again she hacked at the body – her eyes wide and some kind of unintelligible laugh spilling out of her mouth. I realised she was going to continue until there was nothing left, so before she noticed I was here turned abruptly on my heels and fled.

* * *

As my feet pounded through the forest my mind was racing. I'd headed straight to cover – something I remembered Haymitch had told me now – but the rest of my plan was defunct. My hands had managed to grab a knife as I'd fled, one that someone had obviously dropped or been relinquished of, but aside from that I had nothing. This meant I ran quickly and agilely, but when I eventually stopped realised how stupid I was.

How had this happened? One second I'd been planning my attack – the next I was watching my friends get butchered and running away towards starvation. It was Tina. _Tina_. Suddenly I felt angry. Tina had left me! Even after all I had said, all that we had promised – she had still left me! And not just at the start – _three seconds_ before the claxon! No wonder I had been confused!

As my anger rose I began destroying the area around me. Dirt went flying in the air, roots were torn up and beautiful grass hacked to pieces as I raged. This probably looked great on the cameras – the mental breakdown of supposedly one of the Games' biggest threats. I felt my vision going red, my anger taking me over completely, until suddenly I heard a noise behind me.

* * *

Instantly I stopped. My whole body spun around, knife poised to attack. It was a rabbit. It had hopped into the destroyed area around me, nibbling at a flower I had uprooted and beheaded. Suddenly I realised what I was doing. If anyone were to come near this area right now, I would be a sitting duck. I was making it obvious, I was making it easy. Fate had let me escape from the cornucopia and now I wasn't going to throw it all away through a little tantrum. Silently thanking the rabbit I took off into the forest again, this time looking for shelter. I would find somewhere to sleep, somewhere to hide, then I would think about everything else. As I strode through the undergrowth, making more effort to move quietly this time, I wondered briefly what was going on in the cornucopia. Obviously the bloodbath had not ended, else we would have heard the canons. How many people had died? How many enemies did I have left? Now I felt alone – that even my closest friend had deserted me. The thought of teaming up had long left my mind.

* * *

Eventually, after an hour or so of searching, I found a spot to hide. It was a cave, obscured mostly by a thick layer of moss that covered it and unnoticeable to anyone simply passing by. Crouching down and looking inside I saw it was more than big enough for me to sit down in, possibly even stand. My first stroke of luck.

Crawling inside, and being careful not to disturb any of the moss outside as I did so, I drew my legs in and lay down inside my new home. My head was throbbing and for a second I thought it was the stress of my exertion, but then I realised I was thirsty. Crap, I was thirsty. And hungry. My stomach suddenly ached for food. Why hadn't I killed that rabbit? It had been right there, within arms reach. I cursed myself for my stupidity, hitting my hands against my head and then crying out with the pain.

* * *

What had happened? Suddenly every positive thought I'd had in my mind, every notion that Haymitch had planted inside me that I might do well, even _win_ this thing, had disappeared. Even Cinna had been deluded. I was alone, tired, hungry, with nothing to show for myself, only the images of my dying friends. Tina's death had been gruesome but distant – Joe's had been right in front of me. That strange smile that had been on his face as he fell to the ground haunted my thoughts and made me close my eyes in disgust. All Joe had tried to do was help us. He'd told us information he could have kept to himself, shared things about himself that I hadn't. He'd even helped me in his last few seconds, pointing out District 8 girl. But that wouldn't have been much use if Quinn hadn't come to my rescue. I knew the Careers were barbaric and trained to kill – but the look in her eyes almost hadn't been human – animalistic. I knew if I were ever to see Quinn again I would have to be prepared for her to notice me this time.

Oh God. I still had to fight these people. Even if half the tributes had been killed in the bloodbath, that still left twelve others. Twelve people who probably thought I was still a big target – that wanted to eliminate me quickly and violently. Feeling another pang of hunger streak through my stomach I brought my knees to my chest and grit my teeth. My mouth felt dry, so dry. I could last a few days with the debilitating pains of hunger, but it would be mere hours if I didn't drink. Wishing I'd picked up at least a container from the cornucopia I cursed myself again for being so stupid. I'd known that my friends were going to die – that Tina would probably have died extremely quickly even if not by her own hands. So why did it hurt so much? Haymitch had been right all along – she _would_ kill herself and my protection of her would kill me too. I pondered the questions as the pains wracked my body, my body that was growing ever weaker with the seconds that ticked by free of water.

* * *

I was in the tube again. As I felt the glass rise up, suddenly I wondered if I'd been given another chance. District 8 girl stood beside me once more, axes nowhere near her head. As the countdown began I felt a surge of adrenaline course through me and vowed this time to make my plan work. Nobody would die this time. Then I saw her. In the tube three down from me. Not Tina. But Stacey.

"NO! STACEY!" I shouted. Stacey looked over at me and suddenly began shaking her head. It was happening again.

"STACEY! PLEASE DON'T!" I screamed. "PLEASE!" The countdown kept going. I felt my mouth turning dry from the lack of water but I kept on screaming, hoping that just once somebody would listen to me, that Stacey would hear and not do what she was about to. On three she stepped out and blew herself to bits.

"NO!" As the claxon sounded I fell to my knees. This time I didn't have to duck, the knife flew straight over my head. I turned round to look at Joe, to apologise to him one last time before he died, and came face to face with Stevie, the knife in his chest, collapsing onto the floor.

* * *

I woke with a start. My body was covered in sweat, but when I felt my tongue it was like sandpaper. My whole body felt weak and lifeless – how had I even fallen asleep? Light spilled into my cave from the small entrance and I realised it must be morning.

Rolling onto my back and feeling my whole body ache I figured I must have slept in a funny position – my arms moved back and forth several times before I had any kind of control over them. The floor of the cave was cold and hard, but I guessed I would have to get used to that now. As my throat burned I realised I still had no source of water, or any idea of how to get to it. I was hungry, tired despite my sleep, had done nothing interesting except watch my friends die and destroy a piece of forest before hiding all night in a dark cave, and was probably pissing a lot of people off. Maybe I should just die and get it over with.

I rolled back onto my side again, trying to find a semi-comfortable position to spend my last hours in and was going to let out a long groan of desperation when suddenly I heard a noise.

My entire body froze. Approaching footsteps – not one pair but several, more than a few. And voices.

* * *

"He's gotta be around here somewhere!" Blaine. I felt myself hold my breath. The Careers were walking right past my cave, probably only a few feet away. They weren't keeping their voices down so I could hear their conversation almost perfectly.

"We looked all night – he must be by the lake." Rachel responded to her district partner – they had obviously both survived the bloodbath then.

"I saw him run off in this direction!" Quinn. For a second the image of her hacking the District 8 girl to death by the cornucopia flashed into my mind again – I almost whimpered but bit my lip and forced nothing to come out. If I made one sound, I was dead.

"Yeah, why'd you leave him you idiot? We could have sorted this out right at the bloodbath!" I recognised the voice of Puck – his tone angry and frustrated towards his supposed 'true love'. Suddenly it occurred to me that the group were talking about a particular tribute. Me.

"He didn't have anything with him though – he's gotta be hungry." Well that was true. I suddenly prayed that my stomach wouldn't growl and give myself away.

"Maybe he took some stuff from someone else – that idiot kid who fell out the tree."

"Bet District 5 were embarrassed by _that _one."

"He had nothing on him when we found him." I tried to pick out the individual voices of the Careers to see how many there were. So far I could identify at least 4, possibly 5.

"We should've asked that blonde kid if she'd seen him before we killed her." The drawl of Sebastian from District 4 made my teeth clench. I hated him almost as much as I hated Blaine.

"Nah. She was too much of a bozo anyway." That was two kills. I'd obviously missed the cannons from yesterday and a recap of the deaths from the bloodbath, but there were at least two tributes dead. Plus Tina, Joe and District 8 girl.

"Hey guys, I think I see something." Suddenly Blaine lead the group off. The sound of footfall moved away from my cave and after another few minutes or so I finally let go of the breath I had been holding. It came out in a rush, almost painful.

* * *

That was close. Six Careers had been mere metres from my hiding place, _talking_ about me, and I'd survived. It seemed like they all wanted me dead, especially Puck, and they'd taken a lot of effort to try and locate my whereabouts. But they had missed me. That was another stroke of luck I had needed.

Struggling to move my arms and legs again I hauled myself towards the mouth of my cave. I had the advantage now – my enemies' careless conversation had showed me where they had been and where they were going. I wasn't going to let them win, and if I was going to die I wanted to do it in a better way than lying down crying in a dark cave.

* * *

It was at least another 20 minutes or so before I surfaced from the cave. I was still a little cautious about the movement of the Careers, and whether they would have moved off from whatever had attracted Blaine's attention, but also it was a huge effort even to move with my ever-increasing fatigue. The light from the sun was bright and I had to squint a little – I hoped this wouldn't be the last thing I did before being lead into a trap. When my vision cleared though I realised I was alone in this part of the forest. And safe.

Hauling myself to my feet I steadied myself against the wall of the cave and tried to keep my head straight. It was hard – the vicious burn in my throat filled up my thoughts and it hurt to breathe, let alone do anything. After another minute or so of standing I forced myself to walk out into the bush.

* * *

It was impossible to keep my movements quiet, every few seconds I crashed into some kind of tree and had to hold onto it for support. Maybe I should have waited until I knew the Careers were completely out of range, I shouldn't have taken the risk. But I needed water _now_. Stumbling past tree after tree I knew there was no logical take to my search – I was just praying to get lucky again. My head began to spin and my feet felt heavier and heavier with every step, eventually my strength ran out and I collapsed to the floor.

So this was how it ended. Not a knife in the head at the cornucopia, not some gory death that the Careers would do doubt have subjected me to outside my cave. But hunger, thirst and starvation was what would beat me. A tribute would find me hollow and lifeless leaning against a tree. I wouldn't even be much use to them as I had nothing on me worth taking. Just one less person to worry about in the games.

Leaning back against a solid tree I rested my cheek against the earthy bark. Maybe this was how I would go out, with the smell of home. I tried to picture sitting in the woods with Mother, Stacey and Stevie, on one of the picnics we'd gone on when Dad was still alive. The later afternoon sun had dappled through the trees – we'd sat and ate sandwiches with cheese and pickles and cool lemonade. Stacey and Father had played and I'd sat happily next to Mother, cradling Stevie in my arms as he slept from exerting himself too much in the hours beforehand. I was immersing myself in the daydream, even imagining the warmth of Mother's skin, when suddenly something cold and hard hit my head.


	13. The Beginnings Of A Plan

**Chapter 13 - The Beginnings Of A Plan**

My eyes immediately flicked open, wondering if I was about to feel the warm trickle of blood down my face. Instead the object that had hit me rolled off my head and landed in my lap. It was a canister. Ripping the parachute off the end my hands fumbled to open it. Was there some water inside? Taking off the lid and tipping it up to let the liquid fall into my mouth, I instead felt a roll of paper fall onto my dry lips. Paper? What use was paper? Feeling my spirits drop my fingers worked to unravel the tube. Maybe this was a scrap to write my will on. When I finally got it open I saw a picture of a tree.

* * *

I recognised it instantly. It was a sycamore tree, just like the one I was sitting against right now. Somebody had obviously drawn the picture, someone with limited but still reasonable art skills. I guessed it was Haymitch. What was he sending me pictures of trees for? Was this some kind of message? Then, looking at the picture more carefully, I noticed a small bush positioned next to it.

My arms pushed myself to my feet, knowing where I had to go. I had seen this bush before, next to the tree. Stumbling back the way I had come, I took a fork off to the route I'd run coming in from the cornucopia. Just before the patch of forest I had destroyed I stopped and turned to face the direction of the sun. There it was. In the distance. Stumbling over I fell to my knees by the tree and looked up at it. This was the one Haymitch meant.

* * *

Now I had reached my destination I was stuck. I knew now there must be something in this tree, something that would help me somehow. But what? Sycamore trees didn't magically just sprout water – they weren't made of toffee or had families of rabbits living inside of them. Pawing at the bark with my fingers I tried to see if there was any hidden button I had to press, maybe something to get me out of here. Or maybe something that could give me a short, sharp death. After a few minutes I gave up, my desperate hope failing. Sinking down further my eyes turned to the hackleberry bush next to the tree. I remembered reading about hackleberries in the training arena. Shaped like huckleberries, these bushes were a genetic mutation created by the Capitol to stop people illegally foraging in the woods. When human skin came into contact with the berries an acid like substance burned them, causing immense pain. The burns were treatable but left permanent scars. Anyone seen to have these scars could then be rounded up and dealt with for breaking the law. Of course, like many inventions by the Capitol, these bushes were abandoned as a weapon and mostly destroyed. There were certainly none in District 12. But I'd read up on them, just in case.

I figured the placement of the bushes in the arena were to try and fool some tributes, those who had spent more time in the combat stations than the survival ones. I knew not to touch the berries, and certainly not to eat them, so the bush couldn't be much help either. Until…

I saw it. Wedged down, half buried under soil in the centre of the bush. A backpack. This was what Haymitch wanted me to find! Suddenly I felt hopeful again. Immediately lunging towards the bush, I moved my hands back rapidly as I realised what was about to happen. I needed to remove the backpack without touching the berries. Using my new found energy I scanned the area for sticks – when I found one I brought it over and began trying to hook the backpack and drag it towards me. I had little success for the first few minutes. My throat was now desperate for water, my lungs feeling like they were breathing in sand with every chest contraction, so I tried harder, almost crying with the exertion. The bag moved forward a little but seemed wedged in the ground. Grabbing another stick I hooked one in each of the arm straps and pulled. The bag moved slightly, inching towards the safe area of the open, but then the material got caught on a branch in the bush. I pulled with my sticks again but it just stuck harder – if I wasn't careful it could rip. Dropping the sticks to the floor in annoyance I realised there was only one thing left to do. I would have to go for it myself. Using the sticks to hack away at as many of the branches and berries as I could, I cleared a rough path for my arms and then held my breath, digging my hands into the bush.

* * *

The pain was searing. I almost cried out, but didn't want to alert anyone of my presence, especially with what I was retrieving. As the acid burnt into my flesh I forced myself to open my eyes and see what I was doing. The pack was still caught on the branch so I removed that first, then dragged it down along the ground towards me. I didn't look at the wounds on my arms, just grit my teeth and used all my strength until finally, it came free from the bush.

* * *

I almost fell backwards from the force of still pulling, and lay on my side, panting and grimacing at the pain I was still feeling. After a few seconds though I realised what this meant. I had the backpack. Immediately sitting back up, my burnt and sizzling hands fumbled with the clasp, opening it and seeing what was inside.

WATER!

Without even thinking I grabbed the bottle, opened it and poured the contents all over me. Some of it didn't even reach my mouth, so I had to calm myself down and steady my hands. The liquid was so cool and refreshing I felt like I had been released from hell straight up to heaven. Draining the whole bottle I licked my now smooth lips and almost cried with happiness. The next thing I found in the pack was cream. I assumed this was for the hackleberries so unscrewed the lid and poured some onto my burnt hand to feel the same glorious heaven on those too. The next three minutes were spent indulging myself with the cream, covering every part of my body that had come into contact with the bush and then screwing the lid back on the bottle to save if I needed it again. Not believing my luck, and thanking Haymitch to the stars, I found some bread – hard but still very edible, cheese, crackers and an apple. All of those were gone immediately, apart from the crackers, which I saved. A large rolled up piece of fabric that I assumed was a sleeping bag came next, and finally, a map of the arena. For a second I stared at it, amazed by how big it was. The cornucopia was in the centre, the lake on the left hand side and the woods on the right. I roughly figured out where I was but didn't really need to bother. I had been saved.

* * *

Now that I actually felt alive again, I pushed myself to my feet and began exploring the surrounding area. The trees were mostly sycamores, but I saw a few chestnut ones and so climbed them to collect as many of the nuts as I could find. Storing them in one of the pockets of my backpack, I smiled to myself. As I re-approached the area I had destroyed I saw the marks of many different sizes of footprints all along the ground. This must have been what Blaine had found and called everyone over to earlier, and they'd obviously been disappointed not to find anything. It was strange how the Careers were making no effort to conceal there whereabouts, but I supposed at this stage they didn't really need to. Annoyingly the rabbit that had brought me out of my rage was nowhere to be seen, but I noticed smaller tracks on the ground in between the footprints and figured I could probably follow those later. Now however, my main focus was finding more water.

I had been lucky with my backpack that the bottle had been filled, but I couldn't afford to get thirsty again. Moving off to find signs of water I kept my ears and eyes alert for the sound of any animal or tribute approaching. It felt so good to be back in the game, to actually feel in control once more. If I ever got to see Haymitch again I was going to give him the biggest hug, and then smack him over the head for not giving me the clue sooner.

* * *

After about half an hour of searching I eventually found the stream. It was small, but good enough. Filling up my water bottle I placed it in my bag, and then decided to give myself a wash. Stripping off my shirt I cleaned it in the water and then squeezed some of the liquid onto my chest. If I were as popular with the ladies as Caesar had suggested, then this would surely help my ratings. Shucking off my trousers I did the same with those and then stretched out in my underwear along the bank. The thought that thousands of people were probably watching me right now did cross my mind, but amazingly I didn't feel self-conscious. This was probably a welcome break from all the death and the snivelling comments the Careers made about where I was. I suppose lounging around was a little cocky – if somebody found me now it would be the most embarrassing death ever – but I knew where the Careers had gone. At the moment they were my biggest threat, so for now, I would relax a little.

* * *

As I waited for my clothes to dry I sorted through my magical backpack again to see if there was anything I had missed. Setting all the things out on the floor I put them in order of most essential – water first, map last. Right at the bottom of the bag I found some plastic bags. They seemed pretty tough, but had little holes in them. I presumed they were for cooking, so began to put some of the chestnuts I had collected inside them before I suddenly stopped. An idea flashed into my head, an idea that made me grab my still damp clothes and rush off.

* * *

Arriving back at the hackleberry bush I dressed myself again and got out the plastic bags. Retrieving my sticks that I had used before, I started hacking at the branches again to try and break them off. Then, very carefully, I shook the berries into the bag. When one bag was full I filled up another. I wanted to save the rest, but for now I had two loads of hackleberries at my disposal. Putting the bags in my backpack, taking care not to burst them, I smiled and went to head back to the river.

The sound of a twig snapping alerted my senses.

* * *

Grabbing my knife I immediately moved into an attacking position, spinning around to check the area. I'd heard the sound from my right but couldn't be sure.

"Who's there?" I asked, my tone threatening. The disturbance could have been an animal but my senses told me otherwise. There was another tribute here.

"Show yourself!" The tribute obviously wasn't on the attack, else they would have appeared by now. They could be aiming a long-range weapon at me but the noise had been too close for that to make sense. I was about to give up and move on when I saw a disturbance in one of the bushes to my right hand side. It was a minimal movement, but I caught it. In one swift movement I flicked my body round and lunged towards the bush.

* * *

"Aaaah!" The scream took me off guard, mainly because I hadn't stabbed anyone yet. The other thing that made me stop was the fact I heard a girl and a boys voice. Pulling back the bush I had just been about to attack I saw the boy and girl from District 11 huddled together, expecting to be killed any second. They looked terrified, tears streaming down their young faces and their bodies shaking.

"What are you doing here?" The question barked from my lips before I'd even thought about it. The shock at seeing them so helpless had made me halt my movement, but I still had my knife up in the air, ready to strike. "Were you following me?"

"We…we…" The District 11 boy tried to speak – he was so scared he could barely get his words out. Suddenly it occurred to me that I had two easy kills here. The tributes weren't putting up a fight, in fact, they _expected_ me to kill them. It would only take two strokes and then I would have two less people to worry about. That was what a Career would do. But I wasn't a Career.

"_Were you following me_?" I repeated again, my tone still stern, but my hand with the knife dropping down to my side. When the boy saw I wasn't poised to attack anymore he managed a reply.

"Yes. We were."

"We're sorry, please don't hurt us!" The District 11 girl suddenly cried out, her distress obviously visible. I knew these two weren't a threat, but was beginning to worry about anyone else overhearing us.

"Sssh!" I hissed, feeling like a parent disciplining their children, "I'm not going to hurt you." Slowly the two tributes calmed down. They seemed hungry and tired – I wondered how long they had been watching me feed and bathe myself. "How long have you been here?"

"N-not long. We saw you at the river and then you went here to get the berries." So they'd been going to get water. I knew what my course of action should be now. Pick up my things and run, run back to my cave and hide so they couldn't find me, couldn't give away my position and motives. That would be the sensible thing to do. But I didn't. It was wrong, and I wasn't supposed to feel compassion, but the boy and girl reminded me terribly of Stacey and Stevie. I couldn't just abandon them, and I certainly couldn't kill them. I wanted to help.

"Are you hungry?" I asked. The two tributes immediately nodded and I sighed deeply. "Come with me."


	14. The Formation Of Allies

_This is the first post I am going to make as a fully fledged 22 year old as it was my birthday yesterday. Enjoy!_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 14 - The Formation Of Allies**

We walked silently back to my cave. I wouldn't allow the District 11 tributes to walk behind me as I still wasn't completely sure they weren't luring me into a trap, so made them lead and directed them where to go. Both of them still looked frightened, but they followed every word. When we arrived at the spot I dithered whether to let them in on the secret. This was my last chance to let them go, make it out on my own. But I pointed to the entrance.

"I've been sleeping here. There's a cave inside." Peeking their heads in the hole the two tributes let out sounds of surprise and excitement. I could tell they were impressed.

"This is a big cave!" The boy said, smiling at me.

"Yes, it is." I replied. There was probably more time to go out hunting but I was reluctant to go back into the woods. Someone could have heard our exchange, even from far away, and I wanted to ensure we were all safe.

"Go inside, I'll sort us out some dinner."

* * *

As the makeshift bowl I'd created from a large piece of bark sat on top of the mesh of sticks, getting hotter by the second, I leaned back from my work and smiled. The two District 11 tributes had been eager to help me prepare, so I'd sent then off into the trees nearby where I could still see them to collect sticks. As I'd dug the hole and subsequent air tunnel for my Dakota fire pit they'd stared at me with wide eyes.

"It hides the fire and gets rid of most of the smoke." I'd said in explanation. When I figured it was deep enough the sticks were placed inside, along with a few stones, and I used a piece of flint I'd managed to find on one of my walks to create the flames. I had to admit – Tina had been right to visit all the survival stations. Everyone assumed the Hunger Games was just about the fighting, but unless you were a Career with a supply of food and equipment readily available for you, survival skills were key.

"How do you know all this?" The District 11 boy asked me as we watched the chestnuts I had cut crosses in begin to cook.

"Those training days came in useful." I replied with a smile. The boy was small, probably the average size for his age. He had short brown hair and unassuming features. I guessed that his parents cared a lot for him. As my eyes scanned his dirty and ripped clothes, I saw a nametag sewn into the fabric across his left breast.

"Is your name Rory?" I asked. For a second the boy looked confused, then glanced down and realised.

"Yes." He replied. "And this is Marley." The girl hadn't really said much since I'd found them – her hands played with her long brown hair and she seemed perpetually on the verge of tears. Now that I thought about it – I recognised her as the girl Rachel had tricked and bullied in the training arena – her face scrunched up in pain as she begged to be set free. She couldn't be older than 13.

"Hi." I said, trying to seem friendlier now we were out of danger. I was probably nearly twice the size of her, so I could see why she was scared. "I'm Sam."

"We know." Rory replied. "You're one of the favourites." Favourites? To what? Win the Games? "We were told to stay away from you." The next words made me stop. I had sometimes caused some problems at school standing up for people, but I had never been a person to avoid. Did this mean I was _dangerous_ now?

"Why's that?" I asked, curious and a tiny bit hurt.

"Well you're strong and you obviously know what you're doing. They said you might join the Careers." Well Haymitch had said that too. But I'd eliminated myself from the Careers from day one. I was their biggest enemy.

"So why didn't you then?" Poking at the chestnuts with a stick, I turned to look at Rory again. "If you were told to stay away from me, why didn't you?"

"You don't seem like all the others." He replied. "You're strong but you're not mean. You stood up for your friend. We thought we could learn some of your tricks by following you and then we might be able to make it. You could help us." Silence fell over the area. The low sound of the crackling fire filled my ears.

* * *

"Well you might as well stay with me now for a bit." I said after a while, poking the chestnuts again. "We can share resources, help each other out. That is, if you want to…" Rory and Marley immediately nodded their heads.

"Yes, yes we do." Marley said, making me start with surprise. "Is that ok?"

"Of course." I replied, smiling, and she gave me a small one back in response. I hated to admit it, but I revelled in the company. I'd always supported Tina, but she had been there for me too, that extra presence that made me feel safe. In the back of my mind I had created an initial plan that involved Tina, perhaps picking up Joe from the cornucopia and forming a team, taking everyone down together. Of course that plan had failed within the first few seconds. But I had a new team now.

* * *

"Do you have any weapons?" I asked, moving my thoughts to more logical matters. Rory went to find the backpack he had been holding and brought it over. Inside were two knives similar to but longer than mine, and a mace. Shock spread over my face. I'd been expecting to find a slingshot, maybe a knife if I were lucky.

"How did you get these from the cornucopia?" I asked in amazement.

"We didn't," Rory replied with a sigh. "Seeder told us to get away as fast as we could once the claxon sounded so we did." Seeder. I recognised that name from the opening ceremony. Haymitch and him had been good friends. "We were searching for water when we found one of the tributes lying on the floor." For a second he paused. Both him and Marley obviously remembered the sight – Marley seemed very distressed by it. "We couldn't tell if he was dead or just unconscious but he'd left his pack beside him so we grabbed it and ran." So that must have been the tribute the Careers had been talking about. Rory and Marley must have taken the pack before they'd got there.

"He's dead." I replied, startling them with my bluntness. "I heard the Careers talking about him."

"_You saw the Careers_?" Marley asked, sounding scared.

"I didn't see them. They came past the cave whilst I was inside it." I decided to leave out the part where I was dying of dehydration, but the pair still looked scared.

"Did they mention anything about us?" Rory asked.

"No. They just said they couldn't find anything on the boy when they found him. They were more interested in finding me." Suddenly I noticed Rory and Marley sit up slightly. Their muscles tensed and I saw them move ever so slightly away from me. Obviously teaming up with a strong tribute was a good tactic in the eyes of most. But it meant their protector was a target for those equally strong and stronger. The Careers wouldn't stop hunting for me.

"They didn't notice the cave." I said, trying to alleviate their worries. "They think I'm by the lake so they've gone that way." Pulling out the map I pointed out the stretch of water and then circled around the area I figured we were in. "We're pretty safe." Safe. What a stupid word to use. I wouldn't be safe until everyone around me was dead. Including Rory and Marley.

"So did you escape from the bloodbath too?" Flashing back to the image of Tina exploding, then Joe and District 8 girl dying in front of me, my body froze for a second.

"Yeah." I replied in a strained voice, waiting for the pain to subside. The memories hurt much more than the acid burn from the Hackleberries ever would. "I was a little disorientated so didn't take anything with me but then…" Suddenly I held my tongue. I knew Rory and Marley were my allies, but I still didn't want to tell them about the origin of my saviour pack. There might be more out there – something I didn't want them or anyone else to find. "…Then I found this on the floor so I was ok." The lie was poor. I wouldn't have believed it myself. But Rory and Marley were young and trusting so they nodded.

"How many people died in the bloodbath?" I asked, wanting to change the subject, before realising what I was discussing. "I missed the canons and the recap."

"Six." Rory replied. "The girl from District 3, the boy from District 7, the girl from District 8, both tributes from 9 and…" as he went to roll off Tina's death he stopped himself, realising the bad taste "…your friend." Six. Taking away the ones I knew, that was three other people. Plus the boy from District 5, and another girl the Careers had killed. Eight dead in all.

"Wow." It was hard to comprehend that much death in one day. I knew people died all the time, particularly in District 11 and 12, but these were _children_. Murdered by other children. And there were now 16 of us left.

* * *

We ate the chestnuts in silence. There had been some dried fruit in the District 5 boys bag so we ate that too. Rory and Marley huddled together by the fire, still looking tired but moving a little closer to me. I guess we all had to conserve our body heat. When we finished I discarded the shells and suggested going to sleep, with me taking the first watch. At first they refused my sleeping bag, but I insisted they have it, so they both wriggled inside and dropped off straight away, bodies clinging to each other. There was no way either of them would be able to kill the other. Their youth, the way they relied on each other so much now just to survive. Maybe I would have to take them both out kindly when we got to the end.

* * *

Sitting at the mouth of the cave I watched as the remaining embers of the fire died down. It was getting dark now and pretty soon I would have to snub it out completely and retreat further inside to avoid getting spotted. A lot had changed in the past few days. I had made friends, made enemies, suffered extreme loss and gone through hope, despair and betrayal in waves. I knew a part of me was changed now beyond repair, a damaged part of me – but I had known that from the start. Now I could use Rory and Marley to hold onto the good parts inside me – the big brother.

* * *

Suddenly the Capitol anthem sounded. I looked back into the cave to see if my friends had been disturbed, before turning my head towards the sky and looking upwards at the huge screen. There were only two deaths today as I had predicted, the boy from District 5 and a girl from District 7, who must have been who the Careers had murdered. Jesse and Brittany their names were. I hadn't known the District 7 girl well, but as Jesse's face had flicked up onto the screen I'd laughed. He was the boy that had spoken to me during the interviews – thinking about the best way to kill me. And he'd fallen out of a _tree_. Maybe cockiness wasn't the way to go after all.


	15. The First Of Many Attacks

**Chapter 15 - The First Of Many Attacks**

The next morning I awoke with a sore back again. I'd thought with my sleeping bag I might actually have a comfortable sleep, but of course I'd given that away to my new companions. Taking one look at their peaceful dreaming faces though made me realise I'd made the right decision.

Creeping round them and stepping outside, I checked to see if anything around our camp had been disturbed. Nope. I'd covered up the fire pit sufficiently so it was impossible to spot unless you stepped in it, and none of the rest of the area had really been used, save for stick collecting. I knew the arena was big, but there were still quite a few tributes, so guessed we wouldn't have the luxury of being alone for much longer.

* * *

When Rory and Marley surfaced they seemed embarrassed at having slept all evening while I kept watch, but had obviously needed the rest. They took the cold but still very much edible leftover chestnuts that I offered them and nibbled at them like little squirrels.

"So…" I began, feeling like the teacher about to address his students. "We need to go hunting today." Living off chestnuts would serve us for a little while, but we needed meat, protein, if we wanted to progress much further.

"Ok." Rory replied, accepting the instruction. Marley nodded in agreement as well.

"Do either of you have any experience?" I asked. The question was hopeful and with the looks the two gave each other I guessed not.

"We can climb trees." Rory said. "We used to pick apples after school in the orchards." Hmm. Maybe that meant they had a good aim.

"Ok." I replied, trying to make like the information was just what I needed. "Well you can be lookout at the very least. It will be good to see if there's anyone around us." Nodding silently my two friends carried on eating. My brain flicked through possible ideas, comparing the weapons we had at our disposal and their effectiveness.

* * *

An hour or so later we were in the thick of the forest. I'd left a few things buried at the back of the cave under a pile of sticks so had taken only my weapons, water bottle and the map. Marley and Rory walked either side of me and I was impressed at how stealthily they could move now they had the energy.

"Ok. I said, once we reached a clearing. "This should be a good spot." Pointing to a tree nearby that had lower branches I looked at Rory. "Can you climb to the top of this and have a look around, maybe see if there's anything we can eat." I said. He immediately nodded and leapt onto the first branch, climbing agilely and quickly. Marley, I signalled to come with me. She was timid but I figured she could be a lot of use if her confidence improved, so wanted to show her the ropes.

* * *

As we crouched behind one of the many bushes I surveyed the groosling pecking at the floor in front of us. Marley's face was trained on mine, examining my every movement.

"Now we don't want to startle it." I whispered, keeping my eyes on the animal but speaking to her. "We want to move quickly, but strike as soon as we do so it doesn't have time to get away." Carefully drawing out one of the knives from my backpack I held it in my hand, assessing the throw I would need to make. The groosling moved a little closer to our bush, helping the situation and then in one quick movement I threw the knife and watched it embed itself into it's skull. A smile spread across my face in satisfaction, but when I turned back to Marley she had her hands over her eyes.

"Marley" I whispered, gently shaking her arm. "Marley it's done." Slowly peeking through her fingers Marley noticed the dead bird and whimpered slightly. "It's ok." I said comfortingly, trying to ease the shock. "We need this bird, to eat. It's going to help us." Leaving her to retrieve my kill, I was pleased with the clean shot and took the knife out, wiping it on my trousers. When I looked up again Marley had followed me – I wasn't sure if she was just scared of being alone or if she was intrigued. She seemed to have psyched herself up though.

"Shall we go look for another one?" She asked.

* * *

Half an hour later we returned to the clearing with two grooslings slung across my back. Marley had made a good attempt at killing one, hitting it's leg but not having the speed to finish it off, so I'd helped her and she seemed pretty pleased with our efforts. When I looked up at the tree I saw no Rory, so became a little worried, but then I heard a sound from above and noticed him in one about 10 metres away.

"Hey!" He said, waving to us. I smiled and then watched him leap from tree to tree, returning to the one he had been sent up and climbing down to meet us. "You got some food?"

"Yup." I replied, holding up the grooslings, which Rory seemed impressed with. "Marley almost got one." The young girl blushed and Rory beamed, squeezing her hand. "Did you see anything?"

"Not really. The canopy is pretty thick – good for hiding in but not for looking out." I suddenly realised how much I'd underestimated District 11 – they may not be hunters but they knew more than I ever would about the forest. "I did however," Rory continued, "find this." Holding up a small squirrel by the tail he beamed at me with young pride. I was immediately impressed, mainly by the fact that I'd taken all of our weapons.

"How did you kill it?" I asked.

"With a stone. If you throw it with the right amount of power you can knock anything down." Smiling he swung the squirrel back and forth. Marley seemed pleased with her friend's work too and I knew we would be eating well tonight. "Oh also…" Suddenly rushing off to another part of the clearing he came back with what looked like a rabbit, also dead. "I killed this too. Wasn't sure if I'd got it because it was on the ground and I was up there, but I did." I knew this was amazing, but suddenly as I looked at the rabbit I felt a pang of sadness run through me.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked, noticing my change in expression. "Is that not good?"

"No, it's great." I replied after a pause. Ever since my freak out in the forest had been halted by the rabbit, I felt like I had an affinity with them. It seemed a shame to kill one of their brothers. Taking the dead animals and putting them in my bag we scouted around for good fire kindling for a while and then I suggested we head back to camp.

* * *

We were walking happily, our chatter quiet and animated, looking forward to our dinner, when suddenly I heard a noise.

"Stop." Rory and Marley immediately froze. My whole body was tense, ears pricked, searching for another unfamiliar sound. Then I heard it.

* * *

"GET DOWN!" Pushing my hand into Marley's back I shoved her downwards, hurling my body towards the ground myself as a throwing knife suddenly spun through the air and narrowly missed the tops of our heads. Tribute attack.

"Don't move!" I hissed to my two friends, fumbling for my backpack and trying to retrieve my weapons. The attacker was coming closer - now they had been discovered being quiet wasn't required anymore. Reaching for my knife I shot to my feet and saw the approaching figure of Kitty – the girl Samuel had warned me about in the training arena. I was trying to figure out what to do when suddenly another knife flew out of nowhere and hit me in the shoulder.

"SAM!" Marley had cried out, her voice panicked, but I ignored her. The knife stung in my arm but I yanked it out and watched as Kitty came closer towards me. It looked like she didn't have any throwing knives left, but she was reaching in her bag for something else and I braced myself for a head on fight. Wanting to move away from Marley and Rory I charged forward and the space between us lessened until it was nothing at all.

* * *

Our bodies collided with a thump. My superior weight knocked Kitty over, but when we hit the floor she immediately flipped us over so she pinned me down and stared at me with bared teeth.

"Sam!" Rory was calling out now, his cry desperate. I wanted them to stay away so tried to wave my hand but then became preoccupied with Kitty trying to strangle me. She hadn't had time to find her other weapon with my unexpected charge so her hands reached for my neck and I had to use all my strength to fend her off.

"Aaah!" My throat let out a strained sound as both of us fought for dominance, Kitty's legs straddling me and her hands getting closer, fingers crushing mine. My knife was trapped between us so I had no way of attacking, the mace useless in my bag. Unless…

"Rory!" I shouted out, hoping to God he would hear me. Kitty seemed a little surprised that I was trying to communicate so pressed down on my shoulder wound and I screamed out in pain.

"Rory! The berries in my bag!" Hoping he would know what I meant I concentrated back on the fight again – forcing my hands upwards so Kitty clenched her jaw and cried out in her own strained voice. From the corner of my eye I could see Rory emptying my bag onto the floor, Marley shouting instructions at him, and then the berries were in his hand. Feeling a stab of hope but also knowing my strength was waning I called out to him again.

"Throw them to me!" I knew he would be accurate, I just hoped it was accurate enough. Rory looked at the berries in confusion, obviously wondering what my plan was, before aiming the bag and throwing it to me.

I moved my hand away to catch the weapon, allowing Kitty to attach one to my neck and begin to squeeze. For a second my air was cut off completely and I choked, but then with my last remaining strength I reached my hand up and smashed it into her face.

* * *

The shriek was horrifying. Kitty's hands immediately fell from mine, clutching onto her face and screaming. A couple of the berries had splattered onto me so I felt the burn on my skin, but it was nothing compared to hers. As she rolled on the floor in agony I scrabbled my body away, trying to find my knife again and seeing it lying next to her. She seemed blinded so I moved forward again only for her to grab hold of it with her fingers and raise it in the air. I waited for the swift movement, for the pain in my body to hit again, when suddenly something flew through the air and shot Kitty in the back. Immediately she slumped to the floor, my knife dropping to the floor and her skin still sizzling from the acid. For a second I was shocked, staring at the arrow that had saved my life, when I realised that this meant there was another tribute about.

"RUN!" Scrabbling to my feet I grabbed my knife and then ran back over to Marley and Rory. They scooped up the things they had emptied from my pack, along with the food we had killed and we hurtled off into the woods as fast as we could.

* * *

We ran for at least half an hour before I stopped. Frequent glancing over my shoulder had told us were weren't being pursued, but I couldn't be sure. Eventually when we got to the river I held up my arm and we all stopped. Rory and Marley were gasping for breath, bending over to try and get some more air into their lungs and dropping my pack to the floor. The canon had sounded for Kitty's death soon after we'd started fleeing so we knew she wasn't coming after us. But who had the mystery archer been?

"Are you ok?" I asked once I had my breath back. Both Marley and Rory looked a little shaken, I went to lift an arm up to comfort them but then realised the stabbing pain in my shoulder and looked across to see it bleeding profusely.

"Sam, your arm." Marley said. She ran over to the river, cupped her hands and then brought the water over to throw onto it. The burn made me hiss but I knew she was doing the right thing and let her examine it.

"Rory, can you go and get some of the large leaves from that tree over there? And some of the long grass. Suddenly becoming authorative Marley sent her friend off to retrieve the things she needed. Whilst she waited she studied my wound and I noticed the look of familiarity in her eye.

"Do you deal with these things a lot?" I asked. Marley looked down and then blushed.

"My mother is a nurse. I used to help her with the injuries her patients had. We had a lot of whippings." As I realised what she meant Rory returned swiftly with the materials. Marley began to bind my wound but I held up my hand to stop her.

"One second." My shirt was covered in blood and it still had spatterings of Hackleberry juice on it too. I wanted to give it a wash. Moving away slightly I gently lifted up my arms and pulled off my shirt. Marley's face immediately turned scarlet – she turned her head away and I saw her bite her lip. As I dunked my shirt in the water I saw her still struggling to contain herself. Glancing over at Rory I saw him eyeing me with surprise.

"I wanted to get rid of the blood." I said, holding up the wet shirt as if to explain myself. Rory raised his eyebrows and then I turned to Marley, who still had her face hidden away.

"You can carry on with what you were doing – I'll put the shirt on over the top of it." With her hands shaking and her skin hot to the touch Marley began applying my makeshift bandage again – her movements not as accurate as before. I had no romantic interest towards my friend at all, so this whole exchange had been nothing to me, but she obviously thought different. Maybe she wasn't used to seeing shirtless boys around her all the time. With the bandage secured, I moved back towards the river and splashed a little water on my face to wash off the other bits of hackleberry juice. Marley and Rory just watched me, it was a little off putting – especially with the look Marley was giving me. When I was satisfied I had got it all off I pulled my wet shirt back on, being careful not to disturb the bandage.

"Thanks." I said with a smile once I had stood up again. Marley was still struck dumb but Rory stepped forward and replied.

"No, thank _you_. You saved our lives back there." I'd almost forgotten the fight back in the woods – it seemed like ages ago now.

"Well I couldn't have done it without some accurate throwing." I replied. And the hackleberries. I knew it had been a good idea to store those. And the mysterious shooter… As we collected up our things and headed back to camp, I pondered the merciful tribute and wondered who it had been…


	16. The Shrill Sound Of Screams

**Chapter 16 - The Shrill Sound Of Screams**

Dinner was good. My fire pit served us well – we dined out on groosling until we were almost full. If we carried on like this, hunting in the day, eating at night, we were going to do well. Of course, there would probably be more incidents like Kitty, and probably a few slightly more threatening opponents, but I pushed that aside for now and enjoyed the company of my new friends. Rory and Marley seemed equally happy to be safe and sound, opening up a little more and chatting to me.

"Do you remember that time where Seamus got stuck in the tree?" Marley said with a smile. Seamus was Rory's younger brother.

"Yeah." Rory replied, laughing. "He was trying to see how high he could climb – the branches became too thin and he got scared – it took me almost an hour to get him down."

"And when you did you had to chase him all around the orchard!" It was nice to see them laughing and joking with each other. Obviously the orchard kids were very close – it hadn't seemed like they knew each other closely during the reaping but just like Tina and I they had developed a very strong relationship. This was what children_ should_ be doing – sharing stories and making friends. Not murdering each other.

"You have a brother, don't you Sam?" Marley suddenly asked. I'd been happy to sit back in the conversation so the question startled me a little.

"Yes. And a sister." She'd obviously remembered my interview. I wondered if she realised how much I viewed her like Stacey – how it was probably the only thing keeping her alive and me sane at the moment.

"I bet she's watching right now." Rory said, sucking on a bone. I pondered the statement.

"I'm not sure." The two looked at me in confusion. "She's always been against the Capitol, the Games in general." I realised we were probably being shown on the screens right now, but didn't care.

"If my brother were in them," Marley said, staring at the ground as she spoke, "I wouldn't be able to tear myself away." As silence fell over the camp I tried to stop thinking about Stacey, about her cold sunken face as I'd said goodbye to her. She was my main motivation to keep going, along with Mother and Stevie, but sometimes the thought was just too much to bear. Then the Capitol anthem sounded and the face of Kitty flashed up onto the screen, the only death of the day.

* * *

Rory and Marley both took watches that night so I managed to get a good sleep. I was also offered my sleeping bag but declined it – especially as at one point it meant having to share with Marley. When I awoke I saw that Rory had obviously been watching me fire build – as he had already started cooking squirrel for breakfast.

* * *

I walked to the mouth of the cave and leant against the wall, watching my two protégés. Marley was helping twist the meat and Rory had taken my knife to prepare it. It was funny how a day or so ago I'd not trusted them to walk behind me, and now I was letting them handle my weapons.

"Morning." Rory said when he saw me. I smiled, running my hand through my hair and Marley blushed again. I wished she would stop doing that – I felt like her brother.

"Morning." Crouching down to look at the food I made sure I positioned myself slightly away from the District 11 girl, but not enough that she would notice. "Smells good."

"Yeah. Sorry I borrowed your knife." Waving the knife in the air Rory looked apologetically at me.

"That's ok." I replied. "Technically it's _our_ knife now."

* * *

We ate breakfast in silence, but it was a happy one. I'd started to plan the day in my head and filled the other two in once we'd all finished.

"I think we should go hunting again." I said. "Getting meat is good, but we should also build up a stock of other things like nuts and berries incase the livestock suddenly become scarce." It wasn't unusual for the Gamemakers to suddenly take food away, pollute the rivers and throw a drought on all of us. I wanted to be prepared. "We should also get some more hackleberries incase we get attacked again. I think we should all have a bag each."

"How did you know about those?" Marley asked.

"I learnt about them in the training arena. And…" Dithering on whether to continue I finally bit the bullet and told them. "And I found my backpack under one of the bushes. My mentor directed me to it because I was dying." Marley and Rory looked shocked.

"Really?"

"Yeah. There may even be more dotted around the arena, so if we're lucky we might find one." We discussed the plan of action for ten or so minutes, then put out the fire, packed up our stuff and set off.

* * *

I'd been planning another idea as we walked through the forest again, but hadn't told the others yet. Our cave was secret and secure, but we couldn't rely on it for much longer. The Gamemakers were bound to notice our security and do something about it. I didn't want us to die in a roof collapse because we were too lazy to move somewhere different. So I took the map with me and began scouting out possible locations.

"What are you looking for?" Rory asked as we moved. Panicking for a second I babbled slightly before coming up with an excuse.

"I'm just checking where all the rivers are. Incase our one dries up." Luckily he took the bait again. I had to admire his unwavering faith in me - something even I didn't have. We reached the clearing we'd been in before – I wanted to see if Kitty's knives had been left or somebody had picked them up. Luckily we found one wedged in a bush, so I put it into my bag. The other was nowhere to be found.

"Ok, you remember the plan?" I said. Marley and Rory nodded, the latter immediately scooting up the nearest tree to begin foraging. Marley and I went off to hunt.

* * *

My plan today was to get Marley hunting on her own, perhaps even send her off with Rory so I could do what I really wanted. I knew it was playing with fire, but I was desperate to scout out the Career base – if only to see what I was up against. I wouldn't let the other two anywhere near that kind of thing though, so for the moment I had to stay away. Annoyingly though – Marley had other things on her mind.

"Was Tina your girlfriend?" She asked. We were in the middle of stalking a rabbit – I had even given up my truce with them to provide her with easier prey – so the question was highly inappropriate.

"_No_." I replied, a little agitated. How many times was I going to have to answer that question? I was beginning to wish I had never pulled that stunt in the training arena. "She had a boyfriend, he's in my history class." I wondered briefly if Mike would have some kind of beef with me if I came out of the Games for supposedly taking on his girl, before I realised that she was now dead – and he probably had more to think about than that.

"So you've never had a girlfriend?" Marley asked, still not dropping the subject. "_I've_ never had a boyfriend…" Seriously – what was she playing at? She was thirteen at the most – I was nearly eighteen. Even if it did _magically_ happen one of us was going to kill the other anyway, so it would be short lived. Maybe she had a hero complex. Or she was easily impressionable.

"Let's concentrate on getting dinner." I said, trying to smile but failing. The wind changed and the rabbit we had been stalking caught our scent and immediately scampered off, making me grumble in annoyance. It was probably for the best.

* * *

An hour or so later we'd managed to get the same amount of kills, but my patience had been worn extremely thin. Marley was a pretty decent hunter now so I was planning to fob her off with Rory the next chance I got. Making our way back to the clearing I listened to her chat about something unimportant when suddenly I noticed something. A footprint. Not unusual along our normal walking track, but smaller than my foot. And bigger than Marley's…

"Stand still." I said abruptly. Marley immediately fell silent – her face dropped and she stepped closer to me.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Someone else has been here." I said, lowering my voice and stiffening my posture. "Someone that's not us." Moving cautiously forward I scanned the trees for any movement like a hawk. I noticed a few more tracks down the path and then by one of the trees saw the tell-tale sign of a loop snare. There were definitely other tributes around.

* * *

"We need to find Rory." I said, picking up my pace and beginning to worry. He was probably safe up in the trees but I wanted to be sure. We were definitely moving today.

"Are there other people?" Marley asked, running behind me, her hand trying to find mine.

"Yes, possibly more than one." I replied. Finally grabbing hold of her fingers just so I could yank her along quicker I lead us back towards the clearing and began to plan where we would head next.

Then we heard the shout.

* * *

"Rory!" Immediately I clapped my hand over Marley's mouth. That had definitely been his voice, and it wasn't good. Feeling my heart begin to race I picked up our speed, half running towards the clearing. I was tempted to leave Marley behind but couldn't risk someone finding her. This was _very_ bad.

"Hurry up!" I hissed, my heart beginning to beat rapidly. Marley had tears in her eyes and I knew we were in trouble.

* * *

Sure enough, when we entered the clearing Rory was hanging from a tree, his foot caught in a snare. Immediately Marley ran forward to help him but Rory suddenly called out to stop us.

"Don't!" He shouted. "It's a trap!" Marley stopped and looked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Go and hide! They're coming back! Please, they'll kill you!" Marley took another step forward but Rory shooed her away violently. Suddenly I realised what was happening. Rory was right. The people who had set these traps had meant them for animals, but now they had heard Rory's shout they would know they had caught someone, and would probably wait around for somebody else to save them.

"Sam please, take her away." Rory looked at me, his expression begging. I looked into his eyes and saw the face of my brother, crying after one of his toys had broken. My feet were desperate to run over – it would only take a few minutes to undo the knot – but the clock was ticking. Eventually I made my decision.

* * *

"Marley let's go." The young girl turned around and looked at me in horror.

"We're going to _leave him here_?" The guilt in my gut sliced my insides. Marley's face was one of shock and betrayal, like she couldn't believe what I was saying.

"We have to." I replied. "Rory's right – if they find us here they'll kill all of us."

"I'm not leaving him!" Taking another step forward Rory looked at me again, begging me to take her.

"Please Sam." I said. "They're coming, I know they are. _Please_."

"Marley…" I hated myself but I knew we had to go. Stepping forward I gently touched Marley's arm but she jerked it away.

"_I'm not leaving him_."

"Marley please you have to go." Rory begged. "You can't save me! Look, they're coming!" Suddenly we heard the sound of approaching footsteps in the distance. Rory began to cry, his tears dropping down his face the wrong way and hitting the floor.

"_Please_!" Seeing no other option I stepped forward and grabbed Marley with both arms. Immediately she began thrashing, screaming at me, but I placed my hand over her mouth and began to take her away. Marley bit my fingers, her nails digging into my arms, desperately trying to escape. I dragged us towards a nearby bush and buried us inside it, knowing there was no time left to go any further.

"Marley please." I begged, feeling like the worst person in the world. "Marley, you need to stop, they'll find us." I was beginning to lose hope, beginning to think she would get us all killed, when the sound of voices was heard less than 50 metres away and Marley instantly fell silent.

* * *

"We got someone!" Rushing into the clearing I saw Jake and Sunshine – the eerily similar District 6 tributes admiring Rory. Rory hung completely still – I wondered if he was trying to play dead.

"Is he dead?" Sunshine asked. Jake took a step closer, looking at him intently.

"We would have heard the canon. He's trying to pretend he is." Running his knife along Rory's cheek he drew blood and the District 11 boy let out a whimper, destroying his act.

"See?" Jake said. Marley had begun to shake in my arms – she was no longer fighting but I could tell she was on the verge of screaming.

"Do you have anyone with you?" Sunshine asked. Rory had been right again – they were too smart to just kill him like the Careers would have. Someone like Rory would obviously look for support, they knew that.

"No." The District 11 boy said, managing to sound pretty convincing considering he was upside down and fearing for his life.

"Are you _sure_ about that?" Drawing his knife across Rory's cheek again Jake bit a little deeper and Marley whimpered.

"Yes. I did have someone but she died."

"Who was that?" Sunshine asked, wanting to check his information.

"Kitty. Her name was Kitty." Man, he was good. As horrific as it was to watch – Rory was doing himself, and his district, proud.

"She did die. I saw her face up on the screen yesterday."

"And now you're _foraging in the forest_, trying to get by..." Jake seemed the more vindictive of the two – Sunshine was the logical one. I saw her scanning the area for signs of anyone so held Marley close and whispered comforting things in her ear.

"Are you _sure_ there's nobody else?"

"Yes! Now just _kill me _ok?" Marley had begun to get restless again – I could feel her beginning to struggle and prayed she wouldn't reveal us right at the last minute. Jake and Sunshine looked at each other, muttering something under their breath and looking around one final time. Then Jake turned back to Rory and smiled.

"Ok."

* * *

The spear went right into Rory's stomach. Marley immediately let out a scream.

"RORY!" Immediately I sprung into action. Jake and Sunshine had sourced out the location of the sound so were on our case within seconds – a knife came flying my way and I held up my backpack to block it. Pulling out the two bags of hackleberries I'd collected this morning I put one in each hand and threw them in the direction of our two attackers – hoping to God they hit. They did.

"AARGH!" As Jake and Sunshine clutched their burning faces I went to find Marley, but saw her hurtling towards Rory's lifeless body.

"Marley!" I called out. Running over I saw her trying to untie the snare. I grabbed hold of her arm but she pushed me away, tears in her eyes.

"I need to get him down! I can save him!" The spear had gone through Rory so far it was poking out the other side of his body – I could hear Sunshine and Jake beginning to get to their feet so grabbed hold of Marley again and began to drag her backwards.

"NO!" She screamed, kicking and screaming.

"We have to go Marley!" I shouted back. "We have to go!" As I turned around I saw two faceless figures crawling towards me. Marley screamed again and bit into my arm so violently that I cried out in pain. Rory hadn't moved – pretty soon the canon was going to go off. Wanting to cry I did the only thing I could and whacked Marley on the head, knocking her out. As I flung her onto my shoulder and ran, the sound of a canon letting off boomed in the distance.


	17. The Awakening Of The Monster

**Chapter 17 - The Awakening Of The Monster**

When we reached the cave I knew we had little time. Even if Jake and Sunshine hadn't followed us it wouldn't be long until they worked it out – or someone else did. Marley's dead weight was heavy so I dumped her on the floor inside the cave and began gathering up all our things. I had a rough idea of where we were going but didn't have time to think about it any further. I just knew we had to leave.

* * *

Suddenly Marley began to stir. Crap. I'd been hoping she would stay unconscious so I could transport her a little further without her freaking out. As she came to her senses I tried to nudge past her to get to the entrance but she grabbed hold of my arm dozily.

"Sam? Sam…?" The confusion in her voice was evident.

"Come on Marley, we're leaving." I said, gently pushing her up and trying to pretend like nothing was wrong. "We're leaving."

"Where are we going?" Marley asked, rubbing the back of her head where I'd hit her. "Where are we…? Where's Rory?" Suddenly everything clicked again. Jerking to her senses Marley lunged for the entrance. I only just stopped her.

"_Where is Rory_?" She shouted. My hands fastened around her arms again and she struggled once more.

"Rory's _dead_ Marley! Jake and Sunshine killed him!" The shrieks were unbearable. I closed my eyes and tried to block them out but couldn't. This screaming, this struggling. It reminded me of Stacey.

"He can't be dead! I didn't hear the canon!"

"It went off, you were just knocked out."

"You _knocked me out_?" Marley struggled harder. She was making way too much noise, but I knew it was impossible to stop her.

"He had to die Marley! If we'd tried to save him they would have killed us all!"

"We could have stopped them! _You_ could have stopped them! _YOU KILLED HIM!_" The screaming went on. Knowing there was no way we were leaving now I closed my eyes and held on tightly, waiting for it to stop.

* * *

Marley burned out after a few hours. She could barely lift her own head, but I could tell she hated me. As the night drew in there was no room for dinner tonight – I was too exhausted to make it anyway. Getting out the sleeping bag I slipped inside it and pulled Marley in with me, wrapping my arms around her and stroking her hair to try and get her to sleep. All the times she had probably wished for this to happen – to be close to me and feel my warmth against hers. It couldn't be further from her thoughts right now.

* * *

When my eyes opened some hours later I wondered if I'd slept at all, or if I had just dozed in and out of some inexplicable dream. My brain felt fuzzy as I lifted myself up and the back of my head hurt. I brought my hand up to feel it slowly and felt a small bump that hurt when I touched it. Confused, and cold for some reason, I looked down to see there was no body curled up against mine.

Marley.

Jumping to my feet I stumbled out of the cave into the morning light, cursing the dizzy state I was in. Why had I fallen asleep? Marley had obviously caused my injury – ironically the same thing I had done to her to _stop_ her running. She had left, run away from me – from what I had done. And now she was all alone.

I knew I had to find her. Even if she didn't want my help – she wouldn't last ten minutes in this forest the state she was in. If she was trying to find Rory his body would be long gone by now, and goodness knows what she would do when she found that out. She might even already know. Leaving my cave behind and grabbing only my knife I began to stride rapidly through the forest, resisting the urge to call out her name.

"Marley…Marley…" I whispered underneath my breath. I could barely think, let alone know what I would say when I saw her again. All I wanted was to know that she was safe. Then I heard the scream.

* * *

It was like a dagger in my heart. Immediately my insides lurched – I spurted forward abruptly trying to find the source of the sound. I knew it was her, there was no mistaking that voice. As I pounded through the undergrowth, not caring about the noise I was making, my heart was racing and I was praying I wasn't too late. Praying that I hadn't caused another death.

* * *

When I reached the river I was beginning to lose hope. I hadn't heard a second scream, or any noise - perhaps I had gone in the wrong direction.

"Marley?" I called, desperation in my voice. Why had she run away? Why couldn't she have stayed? My eyes flicked across the area, scanning for any sign of life, any chance we both could be saved. And then I spotted her.

"Marley!" Rushing over to a mound by the river I saw the small lump of her body. It was lying on the ground, arms and legs sprawled out in an ungainly position. The tread of footprints were all around her in the soft mud, footprints that weren't hers. She wasn't moving.

"_Marley_!" As I fell to my knees I turned the side of her towards me, gasping when I saw the deep wound in the centre of her chest. The same as Rory's. Marley had gone to find Jake and Sunshine. Desperately looking for some leaves, I pressed them to the wound, trying to stop the blood flow. It was no use.

"Come on Marley, come on…" Slipping my hand under her head I cradled her in my arms, feeling the tears beginning to build inside me. The tears I had fought so hard to keep away.

"_No_! You can't die! _I won't let you die_!" I shouted. All the time we had spent together, the effort it had taken me to accept them into my trust knowing I would have to someday lose them. I couldn't go through it this way.

"_You can't die!"_ Marley was still unresponsive, her limp body silent in my arms. If God did exist, if Mike had been right all along and there was someone who could help me – I needed them now.

Then, the canon sounded.

* * *

A guttural howl erupted from my body. For a second I didn't feel human. My hands gripped onto Marley tighter, squeezing her as if it would bring her life back, that she would suddenly be revived in my arms. As her blood stained my arms and chest I sobbed, tears streaming down my face and onto her pale and lifeless one. She was dead. The two people I had fought so hard to protect in the arena. I had killed them.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?" I screamed to nobody in particular – the Gamemakers, the Capitol, myself. She had been thirteen. Thirteen and ready to live her life.

* * *

For a while I sat there, clutching hold of Marley's body as my torso shook with gut wrenching sobs. I could barely breathe, the realisation of what I had done, why she had run away, ripping me apart. Then suddenly I remembered who had killed her. Sunshine and Jake. They might still be nearby. Jumping to my feet I laid the body of Marley down on the ground, covering her wound with her hands. My body was still shaking, but this time it wasn't down to grief. I was angry.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" I bellowed. My voice echoed in the trees. If anyone was within a 500m radius they would have heard it. "WHERE ARE YOU?" Suddenly sprinting forward I hurtled into the undergrowth, not knowing where I was going but knowing I wanted to find them. I wanted to find the people that had killed Marley and kill them. My heart was racing as I powered forward, my vision turning red as I thought of all the times I had watched people die. Tina, Joe, Rory, Marley. My father. My feet pounded against the ground – stealth not being my weapon right now. I wanted them to know I was coming.

* * *

I ran and ran and ran, changing direction every so often. Sometimes I thought I heard sounds, but they were just birds or animals, running away. When I reached another river, one I had never been to before, I splashed through it, the water flying everywhere. Then, suddenly, I stepped on something that wasn't rocks.

It was a boy. A boy who had painted himself exactly the colour of the stones, of the grass that lay by the river nearby. If I had just walked by I wouldn't even have noticed him. But now I could see his eyes, blue open eyes wide with terror.

Those eyes were the last things I saw before it happened.

* * *

My knife plunged into the boy's chest. He let out a little cry but it was blocked out by another stab. Unable to really see, to even comprehend what I was doing I stabbed and stabbed, the rage that had been building inside me ever since Tina had stepped off that platform being released so I was uncontrollable. Blood flew everywhere, spattering my face, clogging up my eyes but not stopping me from what I was doing. Not stopping the rage. It was like I was in a dream, a nightmare that seemed unreal, but was happening right in front of me. My hand moved almost mechanically, up and down, up and down until I had barely any energy left, and the small pathetic sounds of the boy drifted off into the distance.

* * *

The canon sounded long before I drew away, and when I did I was met with what could only be described as a massacre. Whatever was left of the boy was now unrecognisable, I had destroyed him beyond repair. For a second my mind flashed back to the dummy, the dummy that I had destroyed in the training arena – the action that had earned me the ten. Now it was real. As I looked down at my bloodstained hands, literally dripping with red, I suddenly realised what had happened. What I had done.

**I was a monster.**


	18. The Waves Of Guilt

**Chapter 18 - The Waves Of Guilt**

I don't know how I made it back to the cave. Somewhere between the sight of the massacred boy and the feeling of the cold stone floor against my face I had stumbled through the undergrowth and found it. My hands were still red – I'd tried to wash them in the river but that had been stained too – the blood from the mangled corpse seeping into it like a polluted stream.

* * *

_What had I done_. I hadn't meant to kill the boy – he had done nothing wrong. Sunshine and Jake were the ones I had wanted, they had deserved to die. And instead, I had become the monster.

Suddenly feeling another wave of guilt I screamed. Everyone was dead. _Everyone_ I had cared about in the arena. Rory and Marley had looked to me for protection, for_ safety_ – they had trusted me to keep my word. And even Tina. I hadn't been able to save her either. I was a poison. I was a disease.

* * *

The waves of pain shot through me endlessly. As I howled I pressed my face down hard into the floor, trying to muffle the sound but also trying to block everything out – my thoughts, my body, the memories. I knew people could find me, that they could track the source and discover where I was. But I didn't care. Right then, more than anything, I wished it had been me. I wished for death. My body shuddered and convulsed – the emotions too much for me to bear. They were dead. _I had killed them_.

* * *

I didn't move for hours. My horror restrained me like a coma – unable to get up but trapped in the ripples that rocked me and tortured my soul. The images of the people I had lost flashed up into my brain – Tina smiling, Joe eating his food, Rory telling a story and Marley staring up at me with her young eyes. Then the eyes of the boy – those deep blue eyes filled with fear before I had extinguished them. What were his parents thinking? What were they thinking of me now? The cold, savage murderer who lay alone in his dark wretched cave. I had become what the Capitol had wanted me to be, I had lived up to my Gamemaker show, to my interview. And now I didn't think I could go back. The living nightmares played over and over again – shutting my eyes did nothing, I was trapped. My grief swallowed me whole until eventually I blacked out and my limbs slumped to the floor.

* * *

Waking up suddenly felt very familiar. As I opened my eyes I felt the same sheen of sweat glistening over me, the same dry sandpaper sensation on my tongue. My body was curled up in the same position and when I rolled over I felt the same ache in my limbs. I had felt this feeling on the second day of the games. Realising I was hungry and thirsty I opened my eyes, searching for my bag, before suddenly it hit me what had happened again.

The excruciating pain stabbed me in my gut. Rolling over I let out another cry, but this one was hoarse, weak. Not again. I couldn't go on like this much longer. My grief was killing me.

"_Haymitch_!" I suddenly called out. I didn't have anywhere left to turn – everyone I loved had been pulled away from me. "_Haymitch_! Make it stop!" I didn't know if he could hear me, I didn't know if he even cared. Maybe my murder of the innocent boy had left him disgusted – he had given up on my humanity and now I was left to die alone in my cave a quivering wreck. Monsters lived in caves – I had found my home.

The pain ripped through me again, a never ending tirade of betrayal and loss and the ache of knowing I could have stopped it – I could have saved them. But what would have happened then? Would we have carried on only for someone else to kill them? Would _I_ have been the killer? The Games were inescapable. They were cruel and they were deadly.

* * *

Suddenly my hands reached for my knife. I would end this my way. If nobody was going to help me, I wouldn't suffer anymore. I would end my life and hope to God that I had a chance to speak to Marley and Rory in heaven, to say sorry for all the cruel and callous things I had done and how I had failed them. Gripping hold of the metal blade it cut my finger slightly but I drew it up and flicked it around to grip hold of the hilt. My shaking hands positioned it above my chest, right over my heart. It was funny how this movement seemed strange, like my arms were telling me no. But I knew I had to end it. Before something else ended it for me.

"I'm sorry." I said, closing my eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't do it. I'm sorry I'm not the person you thought I was." Raising up the blade I thought about the last time I had felt happy, the last time I had felt like life was ok. Then something brushed against my face.

* * *

Opening my eyes as quick as a flash, I saw the piece of paper resting over them, attached to a parachute and a small loaf of bread. A laugh almost escaped my lips. What was this? A last supper? Taking one hand away from the knife I gripped hold of the paper, turning it round to read the scrawled, messy handwriting. For a second my eyes couldn't focus – the blur of tears and the strain of squeezing them closed had almost made them redundant – but when they did I read five words.

**You are not a monster. **

The words didn't make any sense, until I looked at the bread. Made from dark ration grain and dotted with seeds, shaped like a half moon crescent – this wasn't bread from District 12, the people I thought had sent it. It was from District 11.

How could this be? It was unheard of for Districts to send packages to other tributes – I'd even thought it was against the rules. Haymitch must have written the letter, but even that didn't look like his handwriting. My mouth moved open and closed, intelligible almost silent sounds spilling out of it. The district who had watched their two tributes die in my hands, who had seen me _murder_ another – they were trying to save me.

* * *

My knife dropped to the floor. Without thinking I shoved the bread whole into my mouth. My tongue was dry but I sucked and sucked on the bread, trying to extract any moisture from the grainy texture. As I sat up my head spun but I reached for my bag and found the water container still half full. I drained it in one gulp. The bread was beginning to revive me – nowhere near good enough but sufficient to allow me to search for the crackers. They were gone too within seconds. I was eating like a pig but I knew I had to. I had to stay alive to keep my promise. That as long as I was alive I would prove to the world that they weren't what they thought I was. That District 11 had been right.

* * *

Half an hour later I was outside. I didn't know what time it was, or even how long I had been in the cave, but the sky looked like morning or mid afternoon. I couldn't be sure. Gathering up all my things I knew I had to go back to the river, I had to find more water and possibly hunt for some food. But I wouldn't come back here. Too much had happened for me to stay in my cave any longer. Kicking dirt over the fire pit I had spent hours making and perfecting I checked my bag for everything I needed. The cave door had been covered – you still couldn't tell anyone had even been inside, let alone that it was actually there. I stepped back a few paces, swinging the bag over my shoulder and sighing. I was finally leaving. But before I did, there was one final thing to do.

* * *

Searching the area I found the nearest bush of wild flowers. Elderflower, ironically. Pulling up handfuls with my fingers I gathered them up and then found some dandelions also nearby and pulled some of those too. When I had two armfuls of flowers I staggered back to the mouth of the cave, dumping them on the floor before beginning to arrange them. I tried to remember an arrangement Mother had made on Stacey's 14th birthday, the way the flowers had looked so beautiful I'd had to comment and a smile had lit up her face from it. I worked for several minutes, until I was completely satisfied, then stood up and admired my work. This was for them. For Joe, for Tina, for Rory and Marley. But more importantly, this was for the boy I had killed.

"Rest in peace." I said quietly. Bringing three fingers to my chest I pressed them against my heart, took them up to my mouth to kiss them. Then raised them high into the air. If the cameras were on me, which I no doubt assumed they would be, the people would know what it meant.

* * *

As I trekked through the forest once more I wondered why nobody had come to find me. Sunshine and Jake must have been close – they were the ones that had murdered Marley after all. My grief hadn't been quiet, I had made it pretty obvious where I was, save for the camouflage of my cave. Why hadn't I been attacked? For a brief second I wondered if possibly people were scared of me. If Sunshine and Jake had come across the body of that boy they wouldn't want to be within at least a mile of my whereabouts. But I couldn't afford to think like that.

The route to the river was like autopilot now – this place felt too much like home. It was definitely the right decision to move, too many memories lived down this path now. I suddenly realised that to get water I would have to visit the sight of Marley's death. Her body would be long gone now but even the thought of that footprint strewn bloody piece of ground made my insides lurch. The only other river I had found though was the sight of my murder, and I certainly wasn't going to go near that place ever again, wherever it was. Shaking my head I forced myself to go forward. All I needed was a quick stop, then I would be off. My plan to find the Career base was now firmer than ever. I needed a new focus, a solo project, and this was it.

Reaching for the map inside my bag I began to peruse it, my feet taking me where I needed to go. The river was a considerable distance from the lake, which was where I assumed the Careers were. It would probably take me at least half a day to hike there. I was still weak, but I felt good enough to hunt. Maybe I could even find some more chestnuts, or use Rory's tree climbing technique to find fruit. Another bag of hackleberries would do me good too. I was lost in my own thoughts when suddenly the sound of a canon filled the air. One shot, quickly followed by another. Two kills. The realisation shocked me. Two people had just died. Was there a fight going on? Had the Gamemakers organised a feast and I hadn't heard the announcement? It was unusual for two tributes to be killed so quickly. Something was up.

* * *

Immediately quickening my pace my thoughts came faster into my head. If there was a feast already, that either meant there were only a few of us left, or that the games weres getting boring. Feasts were used to lure the tributes out of whatever holes they were hiding in and provide some much needed action for the audience. I had no knowledge of how many people may have died whilst I had been grieving – maybe there were only a few of us left. Maybe the one remaining person was bearing down on me right now. Or maybe the Gamemakers were sending in something of their own to kill me. I had escaped the feast, but I wouldn't escape them.

Knowing I had to move fast, I quickened my pace towards the river. I was still a fair distance from it, but could see the beginning of the clearing and I put my map away and tried to find my water bottle. Several shouts from far away rang out – too far to be of any immediate danger, but still enough to set my heart racing again. Glancing around me, I tried to find my knife too, when suddenly I heard the sound of crashing footsteps approaching. Oh no. Whatever the Gamemakers were sending my way was coming now. I didn't have time for water anymore. Ripping my pack off my back I pulled out the mace that I still hadn't used, knowing I would probably need a heavy duty weapon. I was too out in the open to hide, so would have to fight, I would have to pool together every last bit of my strength and try to save myself. Kicking the now emptier bag aside I stared forward in the direction of the sound, my body crouching into a ready position, bracing myself for the attack was about to come. The bushes in front of me rustled, my opponent rushing forward at incredible speed, then suddenly it burst out and crashed straight into me.

* * *

I was knocked flying. My body slammed into the ground, my back jarring so I cried out in pain and my brain going blank for a second. Then the body that had fallen on top of me jumped up, I felt a knife press against my throat and a wild and crazy face stare down at me, teeth bared.

It was Blaine.


	19. The Meeting Of A Foe

_Well it seems like this site isn't working properly and not only am I not getting reviews (sadface) it seems most of you aren't getting chapter updates either. But hopefully this reaches you and you let me know what you think. The Blam has finally started! :D_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 19 - The Meeting Of A Foe**

For a second we both stared at each other, Blaine's eyes crazy with anger, saliva dripping from his animalistic mouth. The knife at my throat pressed down so a small drop of blood was drawn and my arm holding the mace was pinned down by his legs. This was it. I was to die at the hands of the person I hated the most. This was the end.

"_Sam_?" Suddenly Blaine's eyes widened in surprise. To my astonishment the knife was quickly removed from my throat. Blaine sat back and I saw him staring at me with confusion and shock. Seizing my chance, I threw my body upwards. Blaine was knocked backwards, not expecting the attack, and now I was the one pressing him down. I was the one that had him trapped, had my mace raised high, ready to strike the fatal blow – finally to someone that deserved it.

* * *

My hand stayed in the air. Anger was coursing through my veins – my teeth were bared just as Blaine's had been and I had my enemy just where I wanted him, thanks to his stupid mistake. The moment was right here. But I couldn't do it. Even after all the times I had imagined killing him, imagined all the possible horrific ways he could die and I could watch with glee, I couldn't kill Blaine. Not after the other boy. It would release the monster again.

* * *

Letting my hand drop to the floor a loud exhalation escaped from Blaine's lips. I realised one of my hands was pressed down on his chest, my legs pinning his arms to the ground either side of his body, so quickly I moved my body up and away, scuttling backwards. I wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Blaine lay there for a few seconds, trying to get his breath back, but then sat up and looked at me. He seemed shocked that I hadn't killed him. Then again, he hadn't killed me either.

"_Sam_?" He asked again, almost as if he couldn't believe it was me. Blaine seemed relatively unchanged from when I'd last seen him at the interviews – he obviously hadn't been hungry or tired, and he probably hadn't suffered any grief providing losses. But his face was dotted with flecks of blood.

"Stay away from me!" I shouted, wanting to make it clear I was still on the attack. There had been no more noises of approaching footsteps so I knew nothing else was coming. Blaine had been the only one sent to me. Were we the only two people left? Had we been sent to fight to the death in this small, unimportant clearing? It didn't seem right. Reaching over for his knife again Blaine picked it up and I immediately raised my mace in the air, ready to strike. He simply placed it back in his belt though, rubbing his face and pulling a hand through his hair.

"Sam, I'm not going to kill you." He said, surprisingly calmly.

"Yes you are!" I shouted back. "You're a Career – all you do is kill! Who killed the other two?" I was using the exchange to try and gather more information. If Blaine told me we were the only two left, I would kill him then and there. No holding back this time.

"I did." He replied. There was something off about the way he was speaking, he kept looking at me in a funny way, as if he was shocked, but happy to see me. Maybe he _wasn't_ going to attack.

"Are there any more?" I asked, still going with my plan. I moved back a few more inches, but brought my feet up to a semi crouch, ready to strike.

"Yes. Lots. There's still ten of us left." Ten. That meant there had been no feast. There was still too much action to need a feast. Someone had murdered two people in quick succession. _Blaine_ had murdered them.

"If you come anywhere near me I'll kill you!" I shouted again. I wasn't sure what my plan was now I knew the Gamemakers hadn't set this up – this was Blaine's doing. He had been off somewhere and I had accidentally come into his path. I needed to get away. "I _swear_ I'll kill you!"

"_Sam…_" Holding out his hand Blaine moved forward and my hand with the mace in lurched forward, making him jump.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I WILL!" I was getting ready to run, to head for the river and then run until my legs stopped working. But then Blaine said something that made my thoughts stop.

"District 4, I killed them Sam! I killed the Careers!"

* * *

The mace dropped to the ground. I was still holding it, not letting my guard down, but the shock was written across my face. Blaine had killed _Careers_? What had happened? Was this some sudden turn of personality? Blaine had been the _leader_ of the Careers, he had lead their fights, their kills, everything. He had even lead the hunt for me. But now, he was here, _not_ killing me, and telling me this.

"_All_ the Careers?" I asked, unable to comprehend it.

"No." Blaine replied, seeming annoyed with himself. "Everyone else was out hunting. But Sebastian and Sugar. They're dead." I didn't understand. Surely Blaine had been living in the Career camp. Surely those people were his allies, the people that looked up to him. Why had he murdered two of them?

"I don't understand…" I said, for once showing my true emotions. Blaine looked at me again with that strange expression I didn't like.

"I couldn't take it anymore. Being in that camp, with those people – it drove me nuts. So I broke free." This didn't make any sense. Blaine wasn't like this, he just didn't suddenly turn around and _abandon_ everything – he was a Career. This was an act.

"I don't believe you." I said, beginning to stand up and moving further away. "Stay away from me."

"Sam!" Blaine called out, sounding a little desperate. "I'm telling you the truth! I swear!" As I got to my feet I realised how weak the sudden exertion of energy had left me, I stumbled and Blaine rushed forward, his arms reaching out to catch me.

"Get away from me!" I said, swinging my hand with the mace around so it narrowly avoided his head, but not being able to control the motion.

"Let me help you." Blaine replied.

"NO!" I shouted back. "I don't need your help!" Shoving him away Blaine stumbled to the ground again. As he looked back up at me I saw something in his eyes I'd never seen before. Hurt.

"Stop acting!" I continued, my throat burning from the noise I was making. "I know what you're doing – I won't fall for it! Stay away from me!" Suddenly I saw something in Blaine's eyes that looked like tears. His hand wiped them away quickly but he was definitely crying.

"Sam!" He pleaded. "Please believe me. I'm not with them anymore. I want to _help _you."

"You're a Career!" I bellowed back. "You're _always_ with them! All you know how to do is kill! It's in your nature!"

"Isn't it in yours too?" The words made me stop dead. Did he know about the boy? Had it somehow been shown to everyone? Was that why nobody had approached me until now? "You're covered in blood." Blaine continued, pointing to my body, still covered in the dry remains of the boy. "Did you kill someone?" I shook my head. The memories his words brought back were too painful to bear. I suddenly turned around and began running off into the forest.

* * *

"Sam! Wait!" I could hear Blaine chasing behind me so tried to pick up my pace. The mace was heavy but I forced myself to carry it and my pack that I had grabbed banged against my back. I was heading to the river again, my original plan, and then once I had some water I would finally kill Blaine. Then only nine more to go. I could hear my chaser catching me up, his current superior strength making him a faster runner. I tried to move my feet further but I was struggling and then when one caught on a tree root I was sent tumbling to the floor. My chin bashed against the ground and I cried out in pain, feeling the mace roll to rest against my cheek as hands reached down to haul me upwards by my armpits.

* * *

When I came to again I was by the river. My feet were submerged in the cool water, my back was propped up against a tree and I could feel something scrubbing at my fingertips. I had still been barely conscious and remembered someone dragging me to the stream, but now I only truly realised who that was.

"Sam?" Blaine asked, his voice sounding concerned but once again glad I was back. He had one of my hands in his and was currently scrubbing off the dried dirt and blood with some kind of moss he had found. Immediately I pulled my hand away, looking at him in disgust.

"I told you to leave me alone." The flash of hurt flickered across Blaine's eyes again but he chose to ignore my request.

"You collapsed." He replied. "I had to take you here." Holding up a water bottle that looked much bigger and more well kept than mine, he offered it out to me. "Here, have a drink." I turned my head away. My throat was still dry so I slowly bent down to submerge my hands in the running water of the river, cupping them and bringing them up so I could slurp from the makeshift pool instead. Combined with the dirt and blood Blaine hadn't yet washed off the water tasted bitter, but I still drank it anyway.

"I'm trying to help you Sam." Blaine said, sounding like he meant it.

"I don't want your help." I replied, hoping this time it would seep through.

* * *

I couldn't understand why he was doing this. The look in Blaine's eyes when he'd put his knife to my throat was one of a wild man, and man pushed to the edge and lashing out because of it. That bit I truly believed. But the bit I couldn't understand, the bit that didn't make any sense. was that he had let me go. That look in his eyes had told me that if I were anyone else, he would have killed me on the spot, left me there and run on to continue his rampage somewhere else. But he hadn't. He had spared me, and now he was trying to _save_ me. It wasn't logical.

"You look hungry." Blaine said, still ignoring the fact I didn't want anything to do with him. The fact that he had acted so high and mighty up until this point, but now expected me to accept his help made my blood boil. "Have some food." Holding an apple up towards me he smiled and tried to look friendly. I stared at the apple like it was a rotten carcass.

"No thanks." He had probably poisoned it anyway. I bet the stores at the Career camp had all kinds of things. After holding up the apple hopefully for a few more seconds Blaine's hand dropped to the floor in defeat. Then, he brought out his knife and cut it in half, taking a huge bite out of one side and chewing and swallowing obviously. Ok, so it wasn't poisoned. But I still wasn't taking it. The other half was placed by my side, not offered to me, just placed there. Then Blaine turned to sort some things out in his bag. I stared at it for a few more seconds, then he wasn't looking snatched the apple piece and shoved it into my mouth whole.

There was a satisfied smirk on Blaine's face when he turned back to talk to me. I had long finished the piece of apple but he knew it was gone. I hated him for that, but to be honest the food had been much needed. I needed to hunt.

* * *

"Where have you been staying?" Blaine asked. A snort flew from my nose. As if I was telling him that. "Have you been on your own?" This was ridiculous. Did he think I was stupid? "Look," Blaine began, beginning to sound agitated, "if we're going to form some kind of alliance we at least have to know a little bit about what the other's been doing-"

"-We are _not _forming an alliance!" I was shocked that he had even suggested the option. What made him think I wanted to side with _him_? _HE_ was my biggest enemy!

"Why not? I'm helping you."

"No, you are _forcing_ help on me, and _I_ am too weak to stop you." I replied, my voice snappy and out of patience. I was grateful for the food but I didn't want any more of it if it meant we had to form an _alliance_. I was done with alliances.

"Sam, when will you believe that I'm here to help you – I don't want to be a Career anymore."

"You don't have a choice, you were _born_ to be a Career." I snapped back, my voice sarcastic. "You're their leader."

"Have you ever thought that perhaps not everyone wants to follow the path they've been given? That sometimes people get a chance to make up for their mistakes?" The words hit home. I had been given that chance, by District 11. I had shown them my bad side but they had still let me pull through... _No_. This was _Blaine_.

"I don't form alliances." I said, picking up a dandelion and biting off the head, chewing on it.

"So you've not teamed up with _anyone_ in these games?"

"Nope."

"You've lived completely alone."

"Yes."

"_Liar_." I shot Blaine a look of distain. If I had the energy I would have punched him straight in the face. But I had to admit, the feeling of running water against my toes was soothing. My feet were almost clean.

"You don't know anything about me." I said curtly.

"I know you live for your family. You care for people. Did you take that District 11 girl in?" No. Not Marley. I wouldn't have any more conversations about Marley. At least my grief blackout had meant I hadn't seen her or Rory's faces on the huge screen. That would have been too much.

"Did you see her die?"

"SHUT UP!" I shouted. The response was so loud it made Blaine jump, and a few birds skitter away in the trees. "I'm not telling you anything." As silence fell over the pair of us, I looked around the area I was sitting in and suddenly realised I recognised it. Of course, we were by the river, but this angle I had only seen once before. I had stood somewhere near here recently… Turning my head to the right I looked down and saw in horror the site of Marley's death.

* * *

Without saying a word I got to my feet. Blaine immediately rushed to stand up too, confusion written across his face.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to get out of here." I replied, too distressed to remember I wasn't talking to him. My body was still dirty and tired, but I looked for my bag and stepped forward. Blaine had placed it next to his – I grabbed it in annoyance and began to stalk away, trying to hold in the despair that was threatening to come over me and slow down my breathing. Behind me Blaine rushed to gather up his own things – I heard him shout some things but blocked out the noise and moved as quickly as I could away. I had more strength now so I could afford to look ahead to my original plan – hunting postponed till later. Stalking through the undergrowth I heard the sound of Blaine approaching and then his voice shouting something that made me stop.

* * *

"Marley!" Instantly I turned round, ready to release a tornado of vengeance if he mentioned her name again.

"She died right there, didn't she?" He asked. I stared straight forward, trying desperately to hold in my emotions. "You were there, when she died. You saw it happen." How did he know that? There was no indication of how or where the tribute had died on the screen. I was pretty sure he hadn't even known Marley's name until now. How did he know?

"The tributes leave these behind when they die." Flicking my teary eyes over I saw Blaine holding up something that answered my question. In his hand was a small strip of fabric. I was too far away to see what was on it but I knew instantly what it was. Marley's nametag.

"Their body is taken but somehow the nametag gets left behind. Kind of as a symbol of their death." Or to make it easier for the Capitol to mark out the tourist spots, I thought. My eyes were fixed on the scrap of fabric – knowing that that was the only part of Marley I had left now. Her body had already been taken away and was being transported back to District 11, a wooden box waiting to be picked up by her parents.

"Do you…do you want it?" Blaine suddenly asked. For a second I stared at him, like he had just asked me the most insulting question I had ever heard. Then, quickly, I stepped forward and yanked the piece of fabric from his hand, stuffing it into my pocket.

"So you _did _know her." I stayed silent, my jaw set as my fingers gently stroked the nametag bearing Marley's name. "I know what it's like Sam." He suddenly continued, taking a step towards me. "To watch someone you love slipping away from you. To be so close to getting through to them and showing them how much you care, only to watch them get taken away-" His hands reached out towards something unintelligible, possibly me, but I interrupted him.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SEE SOMEONE DIE THAT YOU _CARED_ ABOUT! THAT YOU COULD HAVE SAVED! YOU-" Suddenly we both stopped. Our argument had blocked out plenty of noise but something else had sounded that wasn't natural. The buzz of electricity.

* * *

"WATCH OUT SAM!" Suddenly the tree I had been leaning against for support came alive with a fizz. The shock passed through my body, jolting my heart and making me shout out in pain. I jerked my hand away and felt the tips of my fingers burning. That dose should have been fatal – I should have been dead on the floor. But suddenly the electricity stopped. There was a silence, an eerie silence, and then something from up in the tree began to move. A body fell through the canopy, plummeting to the ground so I had to jump out of the way and watch it splat against the tree roots. As he rolled over in his last movement I saw an arrow sticking out of the District 3 boy Artie's chest, with what looked like a makeshift taser gripped in his hand.

* * *

Flashing my head over to Blaine I saw him standing a metre or so away from me, breathing heavily. In his hands lay a bow and arrow, the next one loaded already and poised to strike, as if he expected someone else to jump out at any moment. A canon sounded in the distance, echoing around us. I looked back at Artie and realised what had happened.

"You…killed him?" I asked. Blaine didn't reply for a few seconds, trying to get his breath back.

"He was trying to kill you." He replied.


	20. The Beginning of a Reluctant Partnership

**Chapter 20 - The Forming of a Reluctant Partnership**

For a minute or so nobody spoke. I was still trying to get over what had happened. Artie had obviously been waiting in the tree – he had heard out whole argument. The long line of sap that ran down the trunk had been placed there on purpose – when I'd put my hand in it he had sent the shock down to kill me. But it hadn't. Because Blaine had saved me.

_Blaine had saved me_. It still didn't make any sense. I had done _nothing_ for Blaine. I had openly hated him, told him repeatedly to go away, and yet here he was. Still standing there. Ready to defend me.

* * *

"I think we're alone." I said to Blaine after a while. It sounded like I was talking about Artie being the only attacker, but I really just wanted him to put the bow down. I didn't like him protecting me.

"Are you ok?" Blaine asked, once he had packed up the bow and slung it back over his shoulder. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it until now. The question made me squirm.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

"You just got electrocuted." He replied, laughing. Taking a tentative step forward, he reached out a hand to gently take hold of the tips of my fingers.

"Hey!" I said, yanking my arm away. The pain shot through me but I ignored it. Blaine looked annoyed.

"I'm trying to help Sam! I might have something in my pack for burns!" Swinging his bag round Blaine delved into it, the pack filled with all kinds of things he must have picked up from the Career camp. It put my pack to shame. "Will this help?"

"Aloe Vera." I said, without even looking at the small jar he had produced. "Aloe Vera will soothe the burns."

"Well where can we find some?" Blaine asked.

"Over there." I pointed in the direction of a plant I had seen earlier. I didn't know why I was telling him this – my hands hurt but I didn't want any more of his help. I owed him too much already. Blaine rushed over to the spot I had pointed at and was gone for a few minutes. I thought about making a run for it, but for some reason my feet stayed firmly on the ground. When he returned he was holding a couple of the leaves, and brought them over to me.

"What do we do?"

"Break the leaf in half. The gel will soothe the burn." Sure enough, as soon as the liquid touched my skin I felt instance relief. I sighed and Blaine smiled, glad it was working.

"Does that feel better?" he asked.

"Yes." Unable to rub the gel in myself, I let him do it, his fingers moving in gentle little circles so for a second I was incredibly relaxed, then he moved his fingers down to my palms and I flicked back to reality.

"Ok, that's fine." I was a little firm in pushing him away but Blaine didn't seem to mind. He placed the unbroken leaves in his bag and shut it.

* * *

"So where do we go now?" A long sigh escaped from my lips. Not this again.

"_We_ don't go anywhere." I replied, gesturing between the two of us. I had had enough of this strange relationship. I didn't trust Blaine and probably never would. "_You_ go one way, _I_ go another."

"Look, I don't know what your problem is," Blaine countered, beginning to sound frustrated, "But I am here to help! All I have done since I met you is help, I freakin killed _two_ people for you _and_ gave you food. And _this_ is how you repay me?" Wait, _two_? For a second I was stuck on the word. Then I went back to my argument.

"How do I know this isn't some kind of act? You lied to all your so called 'friends', how do I know you won't slit my throat in my sleep?"

"If I wanted to kill you I've had _plenty _of opportunities to do it already!" Blaine shouted back. "So far all I've done is _prolong_ your life – do you _really_ want me to stop?" This was ridiculous. If our arguing hadn't already brought somebody on our trail, it would soon. I didn't know why Blaine was so intent on staying with me, but I guessed he wasn't going to leave unless I killed him. And something inside me, despite how strange it seemed, didn't want that.

"_Fine_." I said eventually after a brief pause. "You can stay. But don't expect me to be happy about it." A small smile spreading across his face, Blaine nodded, swinging his pack back over his shoulders.

"So where do we go?"

* * *

I couldn't believe I was back here. The closed mouth of the cave stared back at me, a thin sheet of leaves covering a hole filled with painful memories. Blaine stood and stared at the same spot I was in amazement.

"_This_ is where you've been all this time?" I nodded. Stepping forward, he peeked behind the curtain, gasping just like Marley and Rory had when they'd first seen it. "No wonder we couldn't find you." The memory of the Careers walking past as I was dying, their conversation as they searched for any sign of me, flashed into my brain for a split second. Back then I'd thought the next time I would see any of them would be during a fight to the death. Now Sebastian and Sugar were dead, and Blaine was here. With me.

"What is _this_?" Glancing down I saw Blaine's hand pointing towards the flower arrangement I had made earlier to honour my dead. In this light, with more energy inside of me, it looked a little messy. But I had tried.

"It's nothing." I replied, even though it obviously wasn't. Maybe if Blaine knew about the boy I had killed, he wouldn't want to stick around with me much longer. The District 1 boy looked at me for a few seconds, cocking his head to the side, before noticing my half destroyed fire pit.

"You built this?" he seemed amazed, like a little child. Did these Careers learn _any_ survival skills in their districts?

"It's useless now." I replied, kicking the floor. Blaine dropped to his knees, clearing out some of the dirt with his hands and then finding some sticks and twigs from nearby.

"No it's not. Come and help me, we can get a fire going."

* * *

As the fire crackled, and the hare Blaine had brought with him from the Careers camp cooked on the spit he had set up, I stared into space and thought. I guess my new companion had been useful for something. Might as well suck all his food and resources dry before he left me anyway. Or I left him.

"You ok back there?" Blaine asked. He glanced over at me and I drew my knees up to my chest, not saying anything. "You can come a bit closer if you want." I'd set my own little camp up about two metres from Blaine's, my pack serving as the barrier between us, along with the fire.

"I'm fine here." Shrugging, Blaine turned the hare meat once more and began softly humming to himself. It was ok for him. He obviously hadn't formed an emotional attachment with any of the Careers – he'd murdered two of them, and it had seemed like he'd wanted to murder more. That detail made me nervous – it would have been good to get the rest of the higher districts out of the way – especially Puck and Quinn. But Blaine might know some of their weaknesses. If he didn't have a problem with death then our partnership wouldn't last long. Or maybe it would. I had seen enough mangled bodies to build up a half-functioning immunity to it. It was just the loss I couldn't cope with.

"Do you like it crispy or soft?" Blaine asked me. For a second I had no idea what he was talking about, until I realised he was referring to the meat.

"Are you _seriously_ asking me that question?" I said.

"What?"

"There are eight other people out there, all plotting to kill us – and you're sitting there talking about soft and crispy meat." Jeez. If this was what the topic of conversation in Career camp involved I was glad I had stayed away. Not receiving any real answer Blaine took the hare off the spit and began cutting the bone in half with his knife. He held one out to me and I shuffled forward on my knees to reach out and grab it, quickly returning to my far away position afterwards.

"Thanks." I murmured begrudgingly.

"No problem."

* * *

As we ate the mouth of the cave still loomed in the corner of my vision. Due to the fact we were sitting outside, Blaine had moved back the curtain to air the space and the gaping darkness made me feel sick. I had tried to sit with my back to it, but that meant blocking out the heat to the front of my body, so I had had to compromise.

"This is good." Blaine said, chewing on a mouthful. I wanted to laugh at the fact he was complimenting his own cooking, but I knew he was just trying to make conversation. And it did taste good.

"How did Marley die?" Again the question was one of the stupidest I had ever heard. The glare that was shot Blaine's way made him immediately shut up – I hoped he wouldn't mention it again.

"How did you kill Sebastian and Sugar?" I asked, turning the situation on its head.

"I slit their throats." Blaine replied, surprisingly answering my question. "While they were asleep." Wow. That was cruel. To be honest – I was glad Sebastian was dead. He had caused me nothing but trouble during those days in the Capitol and had probably contributed to Tina's early death. I would have quite enjoyed the sight of his sneering face reduced to a bubbling mess of blood. Sugar I didn't have much of an opinion of, but she was better off to me dead too.

"Do you…_feel_ anything about it?" As my new companion was willing to talk, I decided to try and get some perspective on my situation. The guilt over the river boy's death still haunted me – something I didn't think I would ever be able to get rid of, no matter how many flower displays I made. I wanted to see if Blaine was different.

"About what? Killing them?" I nodded my head. "Not really. They deserved it." That I couldn't argue with.

"But, don't you feel any, _guilt_?" Blaine laughed harshly.

"Of course I do. Guilt that I let them kill anybody in the first place." This was too strange. It didn't make any sense. "After the bloodbath," Blaine continued, beginning a lengthy story, "Sebastian kept gloating about your friend – 'Baby' he called her. Saying that she was a coward and that you were stupid to protect her." My grip on the bone I was eating from tightened, a little crack forming down one of the edges. "I wanted to kill him there and then, but I had to bide my time."

"Who killed everyone in the bloodbath?"

"Mostly Puck and Quinn. Nobody went near me so I ran to the Cornucopia and started gathering up the stuff. Rachel helped me." The mention of Rachel's name seemed to trigger something inside him. Away from the cameras and the Capitol their friendship seemed more manufactured than real. "Sebastian and Sugar were out there too. They loved it." Excluding Joe and Tina, four other people had been killed in the bloodbath. The District 8 girl went to Quinn, I imagined Puck had taken out two. Leaving one more for Sebastian and Sugar to bring down together.

"Why are you asking me this?" Blaine solicited. For a second I didn't know how to answer.

"I guess it helps. Knowing how everything happened."

"You won't tell me how Marley died."

"_That's_ because _that_ is none of your business." Licking the last piece of meat off the bone I threw it into the nearby bushes, letting out a bit of frustration. Blaine stared into the fire and was obviously annoyed with my reluctance to reveal.

"That District 5 boy was an idiot – he killed himself _for_ us. And the District 7 girl – she handed herself to us on a plate. Puck said it was too easy." Now I was getting a better picture of the Careers in action, worry started to pool inside me. With Blaine on my side I had a pretty good chance of figuring them out. How would I have fared without him?

"Will they be pissed you're gone?" I asked, realising this should have been the most obvious, and first, question. Blaine laughed.

"More than pissed. They'll want my head on a platter. Especially when they see what I did to Seb and Sugar." As he stared into the fire and shook his head, I realised how similar our situations now were. Both favourites – both unable to live by the Career rules. Both targets.

"With the four of them, that leaves four other people out there. Who do you reckon they are?"

"Jake and Sunshine." I immediately replied, before realising my slip up. "From District 6. They're around this area."

"Have you seen them?"

"Yes." I hoped Blaine wouldn't ask me how, I wasn't ready to divulge that information yet. Thankfully he didn't.

"Well that leaves District 10. I haven't heard anything from them – have you?"

"No." That was Finn – the huge boy the Careers had originally asked to join them. Had Haymitch really thought I was up with the ranks of people like him? And his District partner, she had lasted too. I wondered if they had teamed up but presumed they hadn't.

"Districts 1, 2, 6 and 10 – looks like you're the only person without a partner!" Blaine said with a chuckle, before he immediately fell silent. Was that really true? I was the only sole tribute from a district?

"Sorry." He mumbled quickly afterwards. I didn't say anything in reply. I couldn't be the only person alone. All these people teaming up – didn't they know it didn't work? Better to survive on your own and suffer the consequences of your own actions than be screwed over or watch the death of someone else. The Careers were expected to band together, if only to share the cornucopia spoils and gloat over kills. But everyone else, it was every man for themselves. At least, that's what the Capitol had planned it to be.

"Well, Rachel is the one on her own now." Blaine said, plucking up the courage to speak to me again after a long silence. "You're with me." Hah. What a consolation. Rising to my feet and giving my arms a long stretch, I turned to speak to my new 'partner'.

"I'm gonna get some rest – you ok to take first watch?" Blaine nodded, beginning to let the fire fizzle out. He moved his body to allow a clear passage to the cave but I ignored it, instead heading towards a nearby tree.

"Hey, where are you going?" His puzzled voice asked. I turned around and looked at him.

"I wouldn't sleep in that cave if the world was on fire. See you later."


	21. The Faint Trace Of Bonding

**Chapter 21 - The Faint Trace Of Bonding**

It took me a long time to find a comfortable position in the tree. I wasn't nearly as adept at climbing as Rory so had struggled to get up above the first few branches, especially with my old shoulder injury from the Kitty incident, but eventually I had found a fork in one of them and settled myself down with my sleeping bag. It was hardly luxury, and even the cold hard floor of the cave seemed more appealing, but I was glad to be above ground and safe. Away from Blaine. Taking my belt out of my trousers and securing it round the branch and myself I lay down and closed my eyes, trying to drift off.

* * *

I was by the river again. Blaine was nowhere to be seen, something I was glad of. Finally alone again. My feet were already submerged in the water, the cold tingling sensation refreshing, so I bent down and put my hands in too, beginning to wash off all the dirt. It took a while to scrub them, the stains pretty tough, but then suddenly I began to realise something wasn't right. The water had began to become cloudy, change colour. To red. Glancing up the river I saw a huge stream of blood drifting towards me, polluting the river and making it smell bad. Bringing my arms and feet out of the water I followed the trail with my eyes and then saw its source – another pair of feet. Looking up at the person they belonged to I screamed. The boy, the boy by the river. It was him. But only I could tell. His face was disfigured, features spoilt by huge deep slashes that were seeping blood. At his stomach I could see the trailing remains of intestines poking out, foul stomach acid seeping into his clothes and making the grass around him fizz. The boy saw me looking at him, my face stretched out in horror, and smiled.

"Sam." He said.

"Sam." Suddenly another voice came from across the river. Turning my head to look across I saw Rory sitting opposite me, his feet also in the river. He seemed like he had before, apart from the gaping hole in his stomach and the slash on his cheek. His blood was seeping into the river too, but he didn't seem to mind. Just smiled.

"Sam." Jerking my head away to look down at the river I saw in horror the floating bodies of Tina and Joe, their smiles the same as everybody else's. Then the final voice right beside my face, filled with the soft adoration of a young girl.

"Sam."

* * *

I was jerked awake not only by my nightmare, but the feeling of falling. My violent movement had sent me tumbling off the branch, but my belt held me against it so I rolled over and was hanging by a thread. The feeling of the leather cutting into my stomach stopped my breathing for a second and I let out a shout, before frantically trying to pull myself back up. My hands fumbled for a grip on the branch and then I used all of my arm strength to haul myself back upwards. That had been a close one.

* * *

Once I was secure on the branch again I looked around to see what time of day it was. The sun was fairly high up in the sky, so I could assume it was morning. So much for me taking a watch. But I didn't care – I had only used that excuse as a reason to leave. I was fully expecting Blaine to be gone when I climbed back down. Checking my pack to see if anything had fallen out I thought about my plan for the day. If Blaine was for some miraculous reason still around, I could hope to steal some things from him while he slept. Maybe some more food, an extra weapon – I had never been good with that mace anyway. For a second I thought about doing the same thing he had done to the District 4 tributes, but then decided against it. I was mean, but not _that_ mean. Once I had the supplies I needed I would leave this place for the last time – head West towards the Career camp. I had gathered more information on them now so could begin to plan an attack – the food store would be my first target. If Blaine had brought things with him he wasn't exactly an adept hunter (for animals anyway), so hopefully the others wouldn't be either. If I cut out their food, I cut out their source of energy. _Then_, then they were weak.

* * *

After a few minutes more of deliberation I began my descent down the tree. I was trying to move quietly, hoping not to disturb my estranged ally if he was still sleeping, but to my surprise and annoyance, when my feet touched the ground he was there, waiting for me.

"Morning." Crap. That was the first part of my plan foiled. And possibly the second. "I never thought you'd come down." Blaine continued, smiling at me in a way I still didn't understand. He didn't seem tired so I imagined he'd had a pretty good sleep. He must have felt safe in that cave. "Did you fall?" Crap, he'd heard that too. Not answering any of the statements or questions I walked purposefully towards the fire pit, looking to see if anything was cooking. There was. Blaine had turned the rest of the rabbit into a stew, and it was boiling with what looked like carrots. Jeez. _Carrots._ As I picked up a stick that had been fashioned into a kind of spoon and scooped up a mouthful of stew, Blaine walked over to join me.

"Well _good morning_ Blaine, thanks for cooking breakfast!" He said sarcastically. To be honest I was mildly impressed. Either my accomplice had been assigned the cook at Career camp, or he actually had some skills outside of being arrogant.

"This needs more salt." I said, looking over. It didn't really, but I was trying to be difficult, plus I wanted to see if he had some. He did.

"_Fine_." Reaching into his bag he pulled out the little jar and I had to hold back the snort as he shook some in.

"Wow. Won't Puck, Rachel and Quinn be running low on their sodium levels now that you've taken their main supply?" Blaine shot me a look, finally one I could recognise. Annoyance.

"Ok, I get it. Shut up." My eyes glanced at the still relatively full pack. If I grabbed it and ran now, how far would I get before Blaine caught up with me? Far enough to escape? Maybe he was worse at climbing trees than I was. I would probably have to leave my pack behind, but I was willing to make that sacrifice if I got everything else. Blaine walked the remaining steps over to where I was crouched and took the spoon I had been holding off me to stir the stew. For a second our hands connected, and the feeling made me jump.

"Hey!" I said, not really understanding why I was so offended.

"You had your say on breakfast, now let me dish it out." As I watched him pick the pot up and pour the mixture into two makeshift bowls, I wondered why he was sticking around. I still hadn't provided much in the words of service, and I obviously hated him. Something must be driving him that I didn't know about. And it had to be strong. As I was handed the bowl I managed a smile, knowing that he had done a nice thing. We sat in silence for a while as we ate, but then Blaine swallowed a mouthful and started the conversation again.

* * *

"So, what is the plan?" My teeth bit into my tongue to stop the immediate retort that threatened to spill out.

"Um…" It was hard to think of a way to talk to Blaine that wasn't aggressive. "I had planned to head to the Career camp."

"The Career camp?" Blaine seemed surprised. I guess he'd been thinking we'd go hunting or something.

"Yeah," I replied, ignoring his scepticism, "The numbers are getting low now. I need to start planning an attack."

"Well I can help you with that." The District 1 boy said. "_We_ can sort out an attack." There was that word again. It just didn't seem to sit right with me. "What kind of thing were you thinking?"

"I-" I paused, forcing my tongue to move in a different way, "_we_, need to cut out their food supply. If they rely on _salt _as much as you do, they're not going to survive very long without basic provisions." The jibe was only small, but it filled my need to stand ground. Blaine smiled weakly and nodded.

"You're right." I wondered how well Blaine would have done if he hadn't met me. If on his rampage he'd run straight past me, murdered some poor other unsuspecting tributes and been left to fend on his own. How would he have done without Career supplies?

"Yes." The response sounded odd. For a second we were silent again, then I abruptly put my empty bowl down and stood up, moving to pick up my pack. "I'm gonna go get everything ready."

* * *

We set off in silence. A light wind was blowing, so the sound of it whistling through the trees almost covered our footsteps through the grass. Blaine walked in front of me – something I'd said was because he knew the location of the Career camp better than I did, but we both knew was because I still didn't fully trust him. It would take us at least half a day to reach the camp without taking any detours, but I was glad to be doing something different. It felt like I was back on track.

* * *

As we walked I let my thoughts drift ahead to the plan. Having Blaine on board would probably do us some good – he would have a much better knowledge of the camp than I did. I hadn't even seen it – he had _lived_ there. I figured it would be somewhere near the cornucopia, probably by the lake, as rivers were not something Careers needed to worry about. There would be no reason to hide, so I was sure the camp would be pretty easy to spot. And hopefully just as easy to destroy. The idea of how this destruction would take place hadn't started to take root in my mind yet, but I figured once we got there things would eventually slot into place.

I glanced around the surrounding trees as we walked. We'd seen no sign of anyone else around us – with only 9 people left in the arena there was plenty of space for us to spread out. Sunshine and Jake were most probably still together, the Careers would be at their camp. It was only Finn and Santana we really had to be cautious about, Another reason for my desire to design some kind of combat was that it meant the Gamemakers wouldn't try and devise some kind of feast. Well, not yet anyway.

* * *

Blaine and I trekked through the forest for a considerable time. We made our way up a large hill, and when we reached the top of it I could see the far away sight of the lake, visible over the top of the canopy. Maybe this was what the arena had looked like to Rory at the top of his tree. I brought out the map from my bag and looked at it, working out our location. We weren't far away.

"This is good progress." I murmured, mainly to myself, but Blaine was standing nearby and simply nodded. Staring down the other side of the hill I saw the river that obviously joined to the one we had been using, winding around the bottom. It was time for a break.

"Let's go." Hoisting my bag on my shoulder again I started to walk once more and Blaine followed, striding by my side this time. I was surprised he hadn't tried to start any more conversations, but figured he had either finally got the hint, or just didn't have that much to say.

* * *

We reached the bottom of the descent and I dropped my pack by the edge of the river. The wind from before had died down and the sun was peeking through the trees – it was pretty warm. I could feel the thin layer of sweat over my body from the exertion mixing with the dried blood and dirt that already resided on my skin. I needed a wash.

Turning to look at Blaine I saw him standing a few feet away, looking a little unsure about what was happening. He seemed tired too, so was pretty sure he wouldn't argue with what I was about to say.

"You wait here and guard the things. I won't be long." Without explaining what I was doing, or even waiting for him to agree, I lifted my shirt up over my head. When I let it drop onto the ground and began to remove my trousers, my District 1 friend was sitting down on the nearby grass watching.

* * *

Whether it was because we were both boys, or that I finally didn't have to worry about being ambushed without any warning, but I stripped myself completely naked to wash. The cameras wouldn't film me, or the parts that would matter, so I didn't feel uncomfortable about anyone watching. The river came only to my knees and was freezing cold, but as it stung my skin I let out a breath and began to scrub at the dried residue on my skin. It felt nice to finally remove these things. Hygiene was the last thing on your mind when you were fighting for your life, but this felt more like cleansing my insides. I was starting off new, a fresh chapter of my story of the Games. It took a while but I managed to remove the dirt and blood from my arms and legs, and then moved onto my chest and face. I was concentrating hard on the scrubbing, my skin taking on a raw, red appearance, when suddenly I heard a sound behind me.

"Blaine?" I asked apprehensively. He was supposed to be on guard – I wasn't fighting anybody naked. The area fell silent, I held my body still, listening for anything else, and then when I went to turn my head felt a tirade of ice-cold water splash over it.

* * *

For a second my vision was completely blinded – the shock of the temperature drop also cutting off my breathing. Then finally I resurfaced and saw Blaine standing in front of me, laughing his head off.

"Hey!" He was naked too, his body toned and pretty nice to look at. He wasn't nearly as dirty as me but his skin had a slightly darker tint to it underneath the grime. Not knowing what to do for a second, and annoyed at my companion's continued laughter, I scanned my eyes around and saw the container he had used to tip the water over me, it was just a hollowed out piece of wood, had he made it? The vessel was too far away for me to grab, so I just settled for digging my hands into the water and bringing up a huge wave that splashed over him.

"Hah!" Blaine staggered backwards as the water drowned him, and my own laughter spilt from my lungs. My arms raised in anticipation of the next attack in my direction and pretty soon the ice cold sensation was rushing over me again.

The last time I had laughed like this was at home. Stacey had tried to deck herself out with makeup for one of her anti-capitol group rallies, but the dark circles around her eyes had made her look just like a panda. Mother and I had laughed for hours.

* * *

When I finally dragged myself out of the river, shaking with cold and the soft residues of laughter, the sun was a little lower in the sky. Blaine followed me, his hair dripping with water and his cheeks pink with exertion. As we lay down on the grass I glanced over at him and let my thoughts drift. Had we just _bonded_? Nothing much had been said again – I should have scolded him for leaving our supplies unattended. But I had enjoyed the feeling of being happy again, of being alive. Blaine closed his eyes and stretched out his body, allowing the slowly falling sun to dry his skin. I watched his chest rise and fall and did the same.

* * *

As the fire crackled I set about cutting crosses in the chestnuts I had gathered recently. Blaine and I had decided to set up camp, with the night drawing in and not enough time to reach the Career base before sunset. We had spent the rest of the afternoon finding a suitable place to stop and then I had gone to find dinner. Blaine had built a much less impressive fire pit from my verbal instructions and it was now fully operational. The dark haired boy sat opposite me, the fire separating us again, but not the same way it had the night before. I respected him for giving me my distance – for accepting that I wasn't as ready to accept him into my team as he was.

"How long do the chestnuts take to cook?" He asked. The question made me smile – it was never something that would need to be asked in District 12.

"About half an hour." Handing over the nuts I had already crossed Blaine put them into the fire and we watched them cook. I guessed the anthem would play soon, maybe in the next hour or so. But there had been no deaths today.

"We should make it to the Career camp before noon tomorrow." He said. "It's not that far away."

"How big is it?" I asked in reply.

"Fairly big." I cut the last chestnut and handed it over. Placing my palms flat on the ground I leant back, resting on them, and stared up into the sky for a few seconds before continuing the conversation.

"What do you think they're doing right now?"

"Who? The Careers?"

"Yes." A small smile crept across Blaine's face.

"Well, Puck will definitely be shirtless." There was something in his expression – perhaps a private joke, or amusement towards his fellow tribute – but I couldn't tell if he liked that or not. "He'll be doing some kind of manly deed. Probably practicing fighting." As if he needed any more of that. "Quinn will be pretending she likes it and Rachel…" He paused again. Something about Rachel had him riled. I was sure he was keeping as many secrets as I was.

"Rachel seems like an idiot." I said, partly referring to what I had seen her do to Marley in the training arena, and partly to try and make him feel a little better. Blaine nodded.

"She is."

* * *

The chestnuts were almost ready. The sun had dipped very low so soon we would have to extinguish the fire. Blaine had started shelling the bark off sticks with his knife and I watched his fingers work curiously.

"What is your best weapon?" I wasn't quite sure why I asked the question. Maybe I was thinking about the possible fight tomorrow, maybe I was guarding myself for the eventual fight we would probably have to have against each other. Maybe I was just curious.

"The bow and arrow." Blaine replied, fairly quickly, and without any suspicion. "But I'm pretty handy with a knife too. What about you?" My smile dropped. I knew what my best weapon was. I knew all too well. Myself.

"How _did_ Marley die?" Blaine asked. His voice was cautious, but seemed intent on finally getting an answer. "Did _you _kill her?"

"_NO!_" My shout was so loud it made a few birds rise up and flap away from the trees. The accusation stung me and made my teeth clench with anger. "Sunshine and Jake killed her."

"How?" I tried to calm my heartbeat down, knowing I had no obligation to answer.

"She went looking for them. Her district partner, Rory, he had just died. She didn't want to carry on." Because I hadn't saved him. This wasn't good. I shouldn't be bringing up old memories if I wanted to get on with my new chapter. I shouldn't be bringing back the pain.

"Was he with you too?" Blaine's whole face had softened – he knew this was hard for me. I bit my lip, emotions bubbling up inside me that were hard to control, and nodded my head.

"After she died…" I suddenly said, the words spilling out of me before I even had time to control them "…After _they_ died, I couldn't cope. My anger, it spiralled out of control. I went looking for them, wanting to _kill _them, and then…" I couldn't say it. I couldn't tell him about the river boy. Blaine stared at me for a few seconds, waiting for me to continue. Then his face dropped.

* * *

"The District 8 boy." A ripple of agony coursed through me. I hung my head, letting out a cry and Blaine rushed over.

"Sam?" He asked, sounding anxious. For a second I couldn't speak – the guilt I had been trying so hard to push away suffocating me. Then it all came out.

"He didn't do anything – he was just _there_! And his face! _You couldn't even see his face!"_ Blaine took hold of my shoulders, steadying my shaking body. I looked up at him and saw the reflection of a desperate boy in his eyes. "I see him, every night! Looking at me with those gouged out eyes! I can't stop it, _when will it stop_! _MAKE IT STOP_!" Tears were beginning to spill out of my eyes – Blaine drew me to him, arms enclosing around my back and hugging me close. I dug my face into his shoulder and sobbed, gripping onto him for dear life, clinging onto that last shred of hope that kept me human and alive.

* * *

I awoke confused. Something felt different – my surroundings didn't feel the same – they felt…warm. Stirring I realised it was morning, the sun peeking through the tall trees that surrounded our camp. And that I was curled up in Blaine's lap. Immediately I jolted, the movement disturbing my friend, who had also still been partially asleep. His back was propped up against the huge rock we had camped by and he'd obviously been attempting to keep watch whilst I rested. When our eyes met Blaine smiled. I'd sat up abruptly and now tried to sort my hair out. What on earth would this look like to the cameras?

"Morning." The sound of his voice was still sleepy. I shuffled myself a few inches away, trying to look like I was getting up and then rubbed my hands over my face.

"Sorry." I said.

"For what?" My face felt sore and my body was still a little weary from the exertion last night. I couldn't remember all of it, but I remembered the crippling pain of the grief, and the soft sounds Blaine had whispered into my ear as he stroked my hair and tried to calm me down. I must have been pretty bad.

"I don't know." Rising to my feet, I mumbled something about washing and wandered off to grab my things.


	22. The Discovery Of Mysterious Things

**Chapter 22 - The Discovery Of New Things**

When we set off again there was something strange in the air. We weren't talking again, but this wasn't down to there being nothing to say. Something had changed last night. Not only had I exposed myself – revealed something very personal to someone I was supposed to hate – but he had revealed something too.

* * *

Blaine stared straight forward was we walked. There was a grim determination on his face and he was obviously thinking about our imminent arrival to the Career camp. Which was what I should be thinking about. Wasn't it?

"Why did you do that?" As soon as I asked the question Blaine stopped moving. He fixed me with a rather confused expression.

"I think you need to be a little more specific." He replied. Oh, right. I could well be referring to the way he had stepped on a twig.

"Sorry." There I went again. Apologising. _For what_? "Why did you protect me last night?" Now Blaine's expression changed again. He seemed unsure, embarrassed. "I was a sitting duck – you could have killed me easily and saved yourself a lot of hassle."

"I've _told _you Sam I'm not going to hurt you-"

"-But _why not_?" Anger suddenly took hold of my voice. All the times I had wondered about the question. Now I wanted an answer. "_Why are you protecting me_?"

"You know why." A frustrated noise spilt from my mouth.

"_No I don't_! I don't know anything _about _you! Tell me, WHY?" Silence fell over us for a few seconds. Blaine looked down at his feet, the toes of his boots scuffing the mossy floor.

"I'm not telling you." I threw my arms up in the air, my exasperation reaching breaking point.

"_FINE_!" The words shouted from my mouth. "_Fine_ you be like that you little weirdo." Stalking off into the forest again I hutched my backpack higher up onto my shoulder and sulked as Blaine followed behind.

* * *

I stewed in my rage for a good half an hour or so. I couldn't believe that after all I had exposed to Blaine last night he wouldn't tell me one measly thing. He knew all about my guilt – he could use it against me. Apart from the fact he mysteriously had some kind of mission to keep me safe, I knew absolutely nothing about him. It was beyond frustrating.

Wisely Blaine kept his mouth shut as he walked behind me. I couldn't even muster up the courage to ask him to go in front again – I hoped we were going in the right direction else we were going to look pretty stupid. When my stomach began to growl signifying lunch I dropped my pack to the floor with a thump and removed some of the dried food we had preserved from earlier. Blaine lightly put his things down beside me and got out his own food. I didn't share anything with him and neither did he. I knew I was acting childish, but I simply didn't know how to respond to him. If he wasn't going to tell me things, then I wouldn't either.

* * *

As we ate I wondered how far away we were from the camp. We had been trekking for a good few hours and Blaine had said we would reach the site by noon, so we couldn't be that far away. I thought about climbing a nearby tree, trying to scout the area out like Rory had and also using it as an excuse to get away from my annoying friend, but then my teeth crunched against a piece of bone and I let out a small cry of pain. Stupid squirrel. I wanted something different than meat and chestnuts. I wanted fruit. Blackberries…

Suddenly I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. A bush, right on the left hand side, closer to Blaine. A bush filled with juicy, ripe blackberries. Immediately my spirits rose.

"Blaine." I said, happy enough to even warrant talking in his direction. He seemed surprised at my addressing of him and almost dropped the food he was eating. "Go and get some of those blackberries over there and I'll see how close we are to the camp." This was perfect. Send Blaine off so I could climb the tree and be rid of him for a few minutes, and when I came back, lots of juicy blackberries to eat. Plus, if the bush was a decoy and they turned out to be poisoned – I had saved myself some trouble too. Not giving him a chance to say no I left my pack behind and walked over to the tree I had been staring at. Blaine dozily moved in the direction of the bush and I was about to grab hold of the first branch when I heard his voice again.

"Where is it Sam?" Jesus. I hadn't exactly given him complex instructions.

"_Right in front of you Blaine_." I had almost been able to smell the juices from where I was standing. My hand gripped onto the rough wood when I heard him again.

"This one?" Only half looking I tried to hold in my annoyance, but failed.

"_Yes!_ The one with the blackberries on!"

"This isn't a blackberry bush." A huge exasperated sigh escaping from my lips, I dropped down from the tree. "This one has forget-me-nots on it." He couldn't be serious. They sure as hell had _blackberries_ in District 1. I turned round, closing my eyes to prepare myself for the tongue-lashing I was about to give out – a chance to release all my stress and annoyance in a tirade of words. I walked a couple of steps forward and then opened them to see Blaine standing next to a…

Forget-me-not bush. Where the hell had the blackberries gone? For a second I was stunned – then I saw Blaine's face and remembered I was still supposed to be mad at him.

"Maybe I saw wrong." They were both blueish things. Mother had always said forget-me-nots were like the colour of my eyes – she had used to pick hundreds of them whenever she found them in a field and display them all over the house. Maybe my desire for something sweet in my diet had confused my eyes.

"Do you still want some?" Blaine asked. I scoffed loudly.

"_No_." What good were _flowers_ that reminded me of home. Annoyed about my mistake, and the missed chance to escape my District 1 friend, I turned round and began to return to my pack, when suddenly I stopped. Something was ringing a bell in the distant corners of my mind, something I had learnt in the training arena…

* * *

Spinning around I immediately looked at Blaine.

"Go away." The dark haired boy seemed a little shocked – for a second he wasn't sure if I was being serious. Then I motioned with my hand and he bemusedly stepped backwards. I waited until he was a considerable distance away, took a couple of steps further towards the bush again, closed my eyes, and thought of blackberries. Rich, juicy blackberries, bursting in my mouth, the juices dribbling down my chin and staining my lips. I began to salivate, then opened my eyes and saw a big bush of the same fruit in front of me.

I had been right.

"Blaine!" Excitement momentarily taking over my other emotions I called my companion over. When he arrived I pointed excitedly to the bush.

"Versipellis!"

"Erm, I think those are blackberries Sam…" He hadn't realised it. I pointed to the bush again and tried to make him see.

"And they were forget-me-nots before…" Suddenly it clicked. Blaine's face lit up.

"Oh my God." Versipellis bushes were extremely rare. Nobody even knew why the Capitol had made them – possibly just a whim of some greedy rich person. But they were magical. Whatever fruit or flower you thought of, magically appeared in the bush. And it could change as many times as you wanted.

* * *

My brain zinging with thoughts, I reached my hands out and grabbed a fistful of the blackberries, not caring that the thorns pricked my skin and I got juice everywhere. I shoved them all into my mouth whole and let out a sound of pleasure as the taste filled me up. Wow. This was like heaven. Chewing rapidly like a little child I grabbed more and practically stuffed myself. I didn't look to my left for half a minute or so, but when I did Blaine was laughing at me.

"Having fun there?" He asked. I didn't even care. I knew I probably looked a mess, but I was so happy I would have smeared the juice over my entire body. With this bush, we had as many supplies as we wanted. We had medicine, we had food. We had a chance.

"Think about something you want to eat." I said, once my blackberry craving had been satisfied. Blaine seemed unsure for a moment, but I nodded my head and he closed his eyes. I followed and when we both opened them the bush now held raspberries. Not that original, but still. We gorged ourselves on them. I was so happy that for that period of time I forgot my annoyance with the District 1 boy and simply _enjoyed_ what was happening.

* * *

The Versipellis bush kept me occupied for hours. Once our stomachs were full, Blaine sat down on the grass and watched me as I closed my eyes and thought of every single useful plant I had come across in the training arena. Plants to soothe burns, plants to heal stings… Plants to make food taste better and of course hackleberries. When I chucked the bag of the berries over towards Blaine he moved towards them, extending his finger.

"What do these taste like?" He asked. Before I had a chance to spin round and shout him to stop, a sizzling sound filled the air and he jumped backwards, crying out in pain.

"They're not for eating." I replied, even though that was now clearly obvious. "They're a weapon."

"Berries? A weapon?" I wasn't going to divulge anything about my saviour pack, or any other knowledge I had about the berries and how they had saved me on multiple occasions, but I did go over and get out my magic cream.

"The Capitol has no limits, you should know that by now." As Blaine sat and cradled his burnt finger I opened the pot of cream and scooped some up on my thumb. Then I shuffled towards him and motioned for him to give me his hand. He slowly extended the hurt fingers and I rubbed the ointment gently on them and felt him immediately relax.

"Where did you get this?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I'm not telling you." Blaine smiled weakly – I was glad he got the joke. The scene was very familiar to the aloe vera incident – I couldn't help remembering the way the little gentle circling movements he had made as his fingers treated me had soothed me beyond belief. When I was sure most of the pain was gone I sat back and looked at him.

"I can't believe we found this." I said, glancing briefly back at the bush. "We're lucky."

"Very lucky." Blaine replied, still staring down at his fingers.

"It's a good job we were thinking about different things, else we would have never found it." Screwing the lid back on the pot I placed it back down at the bottom of my bag, underneath the plethora of supplies I had now gained. "Why were you thinking about forget-me-nots anyway?" Blaine's face immediately turned pink. He swivelled his head away from me and looked down at the floor.

"No reason." I decided to let it drop – we had done enough talking for today anyway.

* * *

After a few minutes I decided I had sufficiently exploited the Versipellis bush. Marking a big cross on the map I made a point of remembering the surrounding area and any specific landmarks so we could return here late if we needed. The Career camp beckoned, and though it was way past noon I felt we could still make it before sunset. Blaine and I got to our feet – Blaine's hand almost fully recovered from the hackleberry incident. We set off in silence, and I was about to attempt to make conversation when suddenly something made me stop dead in my tracks.

A loop snare.

* * *

Immediately I froze. Memories flooded my brain – the last time I had seen a snare like that, the things that had happened, the screams in my ears...

"Sam?" Blaine was at my side, sounding concerned. My body was rigid and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Sunshine and Jake." I hissed. Then two canons sounded.

* * *

Without saying anything I gripped hold of Blaine's arm and began to move. He made a little sound of protest but then followed me, picking up his pace to keep up. I was almost running – my brain panicking. If Sunshine and Jake were near then the kills were obviously their doing – I had to find shelter and I had to hide away the things I wanted kept safe. Blaine being one of them. If I lost another person to their traps I think my sanity would be gone for good. He was under my protection now.

"What's happening Sam?" The District 1 boy asked. He still sounded more concerned than annoyed, and I forced myself to give him some sort of explanation.

"We need to hide. Sunshine and Jake use those traps – they're close." Understanding Blaine quickened his speed further so I didn't have to drag him anymore – I still kept my hand clasped around his sleeve though. As we stalked through the undergrowth I thought about possible places we could go. Maybe a tree – climb high enough into the canopy so that we wouldn't be spotted. But if we were we were toast. We needed somewhere close to the ground, but safe. Somewhere I could familiarise myself with… Suddenly I spotted it.

"In here." Dragging Blaine towards the small cave, I threw him inside and then swiftly followed behind him.

* * *

It felt strange to be inside a cave again. It would normally be the last place I would go to, but I was desperate. And caves were what I knew in these Games. Once we were both inside I went to find something that could be used to block the entrance, when suddenly doors appeared out of nowhere and closed, shutting us in completely. Well that was odd. Were the Gamemakers _helping_ us? Maybe this was some kind of advanced protection cave. I had outdone myself this time.

Finally calming down enough to look over I saw Blaine strewn across the floor, breathing heavily. I suppose I had handled him quite roughly. But I had been trying to save him. The realisation that he was part enough of me now to warrant extreme protection pooled in my gut for a few seconds, but was then angrily dispelled.

"Are you ok?" I asked after a minute or so. Blaine looked up at me.

"I think I cracked a rib."

"Sorry." The apology didn't seem to get a response. Blaine hauled himself to his feet, staggering over towards me, and then staring at the now closed cave doors.

"Those two really freak you out, don't they?" Of course they did. They had murdered Rory and Marley. They had caused me to murder the District 8 boy. If I weren't so scared I would have gone out there and killed them myself.

Actually…I would.

"You stay here." Taking a step forward Blaine's arm shot out to grab me. I heard him wince in pain but his fingers held me fast.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Sunshine and Jake." I replied, almost matter-of-factly. "And kill them."

"No you're not." The reply made me angry. Shaking Blaine off I scowled at him.

"Yes I am! They killed my friends!"

"Well I'm coming with you."

"No you're not! Stay here."

"I'm not leaving you."

"You're injured." Pointing at his ribs I took another step forward and ducked his oncoming swipe at me. "Stay here I'll be back soon."

"Sam! Sam don't do this!" Ignoring the desperate words of my friend I took the final steps towards the doorway and waited for it to open.

* * *

It didn't.

"Open." I said. Nothing. My eyes scanned the dank darkness for any kind of seal on the door. No cracks were visible. It was as if the doors had melded together, trapped us inside. Suddenly I noticed something about the walls that was different. Reaching my hand out, I touched the surface slowly and felt tiny little bumps, the faint crackle of electricity. Screens.

"Blaine I…" Turning round to speak to my friend I noticed him standing stock still staring at the wall that had now come alive with a picture. A picture of a woman.


	23. The Screens Of Death

**Chapter 23 - The Screens Of Death**

The woman was saying something. For a second my ears struggled to tune into the frequency, to work out what she was saying. Then I heard it clearly.

"Kill Sam."

* * *

"Blaine!" Rushing forward I went to talk to my friend, but he made no movement, his eyes transfixed on the screen. The woman looked to be in her early forties – soft black curly hair and deep green eyes. She seemed kind but tired at the same time. To my horror I realised it was Blaine's mother.

"Kill Sam." She said again. I didn't know if this was a live feed – if she was being forced to say this. She had never even met me, so why she would want me dead was beyond reason. Unless she was trying to protect her son.

"Blaine, don't listen to her." I said cautiously. My hand reached out to touch his shoulder, but then I heard a voice that made me spin around as fast as lightening.

"Sam." It was Stacey. For a second I was filled with an immense state of relief. She was alive, she was communicating with me. My eyes filled with tears and I walked closer to the screen, wishing I could touch her, hold her close again. Then she spoke again.

"Kill Blaine."

* * *

What? What was happening? Why was Stacey telling me to kill? This couldn't be real – they couldn't be making her say this without a fight. But it was her face, her lips moving, her voice.

"Kill Blaine Sam." I was confused. My posture was as rigid as Blaine's had been – I understood why he hadn't responded to me. I wanted to turn around and look at him but the sight of Stacey was so mesmerising I couldn't tear myself away.

"You think Blaine _cares_ about you Sam?" She spoke again, her words taking on a callous tone. "You think he wants to _protect_ you? He will kill you in an instant."

"He promised he wouldn't hurt me." I replied, for some reason standing up for my friend. "He's had plenty of opportunities to kill me already and he hasn't taken them."

"That's because he's waiting to get to the camp." This was the first sign that Stacey was communicating directly with me – that this wasn't some recorded tape. Her face looked so real – eyes boring into mine, seeping into my soul.

"He wants to meet up with his friends again. This has all been a plan to reel you in, and you fell for it."

"It's not a plan!" I shouted back. The realisation of what was happening was making me desperate – the fight between what I knew about Blaine and the words of my sister tearing me in two.

"Yes it is? Do you _really_ think a Career would team up with someone from _District 12_? You rejected their group – now they want you dead. And they played on your weakness." My weakness was right here. Stacey was my weakness. Her words were drilling into my brain – planting seeds that I didn't want to be planted.

"As soon as you step foot in that base you'll be dead. They'll kill you, together."

"No they won't!" I screamed back. "Blaine could have killed me countless times! He didn't!"

"That's because it was too easy." Stacey replied. "He wants a fight. He wants you to fight to your death." What she was saying began to make sense. Blaine couldn't care about anyone – he had murdered Sebastian and Sugar without a thought. That was if they were even really dead. I had seen their faces on the screen, but that could have been a cover up. Maybe Blaine had been lying to me all this time. Just like he had lied about protecting me.

"Kill him Sam!" Stacey shouted, her voice raising in volume. "He deserves it! Think of all the people he killed, the way he smiled at the interviews! He doesn't care about _anyone_! He doesn't care about _you_!" I tried to block out the words but they were making more and more sense. Stacey was outside the arena, she had probably seen things. Maybe she was trying to warn me, maybe I _should _kill Blaine.

"Do you want Marley and Rory's deaths to be in vain?" At the mention of their names my body tensed further. "And Kurt? The boy you _murdered_?" Kurt. That must be the District 8 boy. The one who had been just like me, trusting, naive. "If you don't kill Blaine now, you're a coward. Everyone will know what a monster you are – you will never be forgiven." I was a monster. A vicious, killing monster. Blaine knew what I was. He had known all along. But he was an even bigger monster than me.

"You know what you have to do Sam." Stacey instructed, he expression suddenly becoming more serious. "Get out your mace." Without even thinking I dug into my bag and pulled out the long spiked weapon. "Use it." My sister continued. "Use it to get your revenge. To finally be free of him." My hands gripped hold of the hilt – my blood was pumping and the words of the person I loved most in the world filled my ears.

"_Kill him Sam! Kill Blaine before he kills you_!"

* * *

As I swung round I came face to face with a seething Blaine. There was froth dripping from his mouth like a wild dog, I could see the long knife gripped in his hands. The face of his mother was behind him, shouting something that I couldn't hear. I could only hear Stacey. Cheering me on, willing me to do it. I would do this for her. Taking a step forward Blaine mirrored me too. We were both poised to strike, both ready to fight to the death and kill one another. Stacey spoke to me one more time, telling me what to do, then I raised my mace in the air and lunged forward, striking.

* * *

The sound of crashing filled the air. I opened my eyes as saw the fizzling crack of the screens, sparking around the area I had just hit. Flashing my head round I saw Blaine on the other side of the room, his knife also embedded in the wall. The anguished face of Stacey looked back at me, the pain in her eyes that I had disobeyed her. I raised the mace and crashed it into the wall once again.

Over and over I hit – taking out my anger on the electric weapon the Gamemakers had tried to use. The garbled voice of Blaine's mother tried to shout out instructions, just as Stacey was still doing, but I pounded her face until she was battered and destroyed. When the final panel had been demolished the screens suddenly faded, the cave doors opened and dim light spilt in.

We had done it. We had overcome the trick of the Gamemakers and we had beaten them. Blaine and I were still alive.

Blaine.

* * *

Suddenly my attention turned to my friend. My friend, that only moments ago, had been poised to brutally murder me. Just as I had him. He was crouched on the floor – the knife he had used to stab the screen strewn a couple of metres away from him. The wall in front still sparked so I walked over and immediately pulled him away.

"Blaine!" I cried out, hoping he was ok but also feeling an immense sense of relief. When he didn't respond I hauled him to his feet, turning his around in my arms until I saw his half conscious, dirty face.

"Blaine!" Finally some recognition sparked in his eyes. Coming to life, he steadied himself, hands tightening on my shoulders and his mouth opening a little in shock.

"Sam?" He asked.

"Blaine, it's me – I'm safe! _We're_ safe!" Gripping him rigidly I smiled, almost laughed. Blaine laughed too, tears of happiness and relief spilling from his eyes. Then, he leant forward, and crushed his lips to mine.


	24. The Sensation Of A Kiss

_I think this is the chapter y'all have been waiting for... :D  
_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 24 - The Sensation Of A Kiss**

For a second everything froze. Time, the moment, my whole entire body. Then abruptly everything started again.

* * *

I pulled away from Blaine, our lips popping. My eyes were wide and he obviously noticed. What the hell?

"Sam, I…" Blaine began to speak but there was nothing to say. My mouth hung open and for a second I wondered if I were still breathing. Blaine let go of me abruptly and then I stared at the floor, unable to think straight.

"We should go." As the District 1 boy took off without saying anything else I went to follow, before suddenly something caught my eye on the ground. Bending down I cleared away some of the dirt on the floor and saw a small nametag. My fingers grasped hold of it and when I held it up to the light to read I saw the name SUNSHINE printed in capital letters. Sunshine. She had died here. Remembering the two canons we had heard before our foray into the video cave I scanned my eyes around the area until a few metres away I saw something else embedded in the dirt, probably trodden in on our arrival into the staged nightmare. Jake's nametag. Two other people had gone through this torture. But they hadn't been strong enough to resist it. They had murdered each other.

"Hey, Blaine!" Letting Sunshine's name fall to the floor I chased after my friend, who had now stalked off into the forest – the both of us leaving the video cave far behind.

* * *

I let my mind focus on what I had just discovered instead of what had happened in the cave. If Sunshine and Jake were dead, that left only the two tributes from District 10 and the Careers left. We had to be getting near the end now. As I ran to catch up with Blaine, I realised that the Careers probably wouldn't be coming to find us now – they would be waiting for us to find them. Which gave me the perfect opportunity to do this.

* * *

"Blaine!" The dark haired boy turned around. He looked pretty distressed – whether that was because of the ordeal we had just gone through or the events that had happened afterwards I wasn't sure. But he stopped and looked at me.

"Are you ok?" My friend scoffed.

"Ok? _Do you think I'm ok_? We just nearly _murdered_ each other and then…" he trailed off. The two of us were standing about a metre apart, neither one wanting to close the gap. I realised I didn't actually know what I wanted to say, so just went with what I knew.

"Sunshine and Jake died in the cave." Blaine looked at me, confused.

"What?"

"I found their nametags. You said when tributes die their nametags get left. They killed each other in the cave." For a second Blaine processed the information, the cogs whirring in his brain. I used the time to try and organise my thoughts, watching the way his eyebrows furrowed in concentration and a thin bead of swear trickled down his forehead.

"Oh." The response didn't merit the time taken to create it. Sunshine and Jake hadn't been strong enough to fight against the tampered words of their loved ones. They had given in to their desperation and bludgeoned each other to death. But Blaine and I hadn't.

"Why did you kiss me?" The words blurted out of my mouth before I had time to stop them. Blaine immediately looked down at the ground again and I wished I hadn't.

"I don't know!" He replied, sounding agitated. "It just happened!" My mind still hadn't fully processed the event, made it real, thought about how _I_ had felt during the situation.

"I mean I just don't understand," I babbled, trying to order things but failing, "if it was some kind of mistake or just an act of relief-"

"-It wasn't a mistake Sam." The words rang clear and true in the air. Blaine spoke to me with conviction for the first time in a long while. "It wasn't a mistake."

* * *

My mind suddenly tracked back to a day in District 12 – by the seam, sitting on top of one of the small hills. Madeline Franklin had twirled her hair in her small slender fingers, let her other hand rest of the soft fabric of her cotton dress and gazed at me with loving eyes. As she had leant forward and kissed me I had responded, but when we pulled away the expression on her face had changed.

"Do you like me?" She had asked. As the wind blew through our clothes my eyebrows had furrowed.

"Of course."

"But do you _like_ like me?" I hadn't understood, and the split second it took me to think about it was enough to make it all fall apart.

"Do you even know what love _means_ Sam Evans?" Madeline had shouted, her hands dropping to the floor. "Do you even know how to care about someone – to kiss them and _mean it_?" My tongue had stayed silent, no words able to form and answer the question. Madeline had balled her fists together, let out an exasperated shout and stood up.

"This was a mistake." She had said. Her soft brown leather shoes had turned around and begun to walk quickly down the hill away from me.

* * *

Forcing myself back into reality I found myself staring forward at Blaine. He didn't have long hair. He didn't wear dresses. We had barely known each other for more than a couple of weeks. But something inside me felt different to all the other times I had spent with people. We had been ready to kill each other – teeth bared, weapons raised, but something had made us stop. Something that had made Blaine shoot Artie, had made me drag him to the cave panicked and desperate. Closing the last few steps between us I took hold of Blaine's face and kissed him.

* * *

It was strange. We didn't know what we were doing, our mouths connecting in an awkward way, but something inside me clicked. I tested out the new sensations, adjusting my angle and closing my eyes. Our lips parted briefly but then they met again, slightly different this time. Blaine tasted of blood and pain and relief, but I knew I felt exactly the same and suddenly it didn't seem to matter. Kissing him deeper I felt hands slip over my shoulders and pull me in close, our bodies pressing together, desperate for contact. Warmth flooded through my body and I felt a solitary tear trickle down my face – what for I didn't know. We kissed for what seemed like hours – the world stopping momentarily around us – and then suddenly broke away.

Blaine was panting loudly and his face was flushed, I could feel my own heart pounding in my chest. What was going on? Did I like this? Did _Blaine_ like this? Both of us knew we should say something – try to explain what had just happened – but we couldn't. For a second our eyes stared into each other's the connection deep and strong. Then we gripped hold of each other again.

* * *

This time Blaine pressed me against a nearby tree. The rough bark scratched my neck, but I was more preoccupied with the lips working wonders on mine. Pressing our bodies even closer together hands cupped my face and I closed my eyes, kissing kissing kissing. For a second I wasn't in the forest. I wasn't even in the Games. I was somewhere else.

Then I broke away. Blaine seemed surprised at my sudden pulling back, his mouth following mine for a millisecond as if to capture my lips again. There was a look in his eyes – something I had seen before but only now knew what I meant.

"We can't do this." Immediately his face dropped. Hands rested either side of my head on the tree and our chests still touched.

"What?" Blaine's speech was laboured, as was mine, but there was an obvious desperation there – like a child who had suddenly had a toy taken away from him. I tried to catch my breath, knowing I would never be able to get out all I had to say otherwise.

"There are people out there that want to _kill_ us! People looking for us right now!" Blaine's expression was confused – I figured he had been expecting me to say something about how we barely knew each other – that we were both boys. "We need to…concentrate." Abruptly we both realised. I wasn't trying to stop this. Something inside of me, no matter how strange or unfamiliar, knew this was right. I didn't want to end it. I was just worried, that if we carried on – I wouldn't be able to stop. Blaine smiled, taking hold of my face again and stroking my cheek lightly.

"_Oh Sam_." He said, before closing the gap and kissing me again.

* * *

The next half an hour or so seemed to pass by quickly. I don't know if I was finally unlocking my teenage boy personality, but somehow however much we kissed it never seemed to be enough. Was this how I had been supposed to feel with all those girls? For all those years? I couldn't imagine how I would have coped. Perhaps it was the unusual situation of the Games – the way my emotions had been heightened, stretched to their limits. But I clung to Blaine like he was my last hope.

Finally, once we had completely exhausted ourselves, I sat back against the tree, Blaine sitting next to me and resting his head on my shoulder. Our heavy breathing mixed together in a fast rhythm – almost as if we were synched.

"How did…?" I began, before realising that neither of us knew. How on earth had this happened? Blaine's hand drifted towards mine and I encased my fingers in his. As he drew soft slow patterns on the tips of them I was brought back to our first day together – how everything had seemed so strange and distant. Things now were just as strange, but the distance had decreased rapidly.

* * *

My thoughts suddenly tracked to what might be going on at home right now. What would mother be thinking? District 12 was pretty liberal in terms of relationships – unless you'd murdered someone or committed some heinous crime people were allowed to do whatever they wanted with whoever they wanted without any real scandal. But most of us just stuck to the norm. Blaine and I hadn't exactly started a relationship, but we had kissed. _A lot_. And it had felt good. For the first time in my life I had enjoyed an intimate experience. I really hoped Mother wasn't upset – I hoped I hadn't embarrassed her. But for the first time in these Games I actually felt happy.

"Are you…ok?" Blaine asked, hesitant. I was amazed he was still unsure – that he still thought I was going to run away at any moment. He had been right to think that before, but not now. Not now.

"_Yes_." I replied, almost laughing. Blaine smiled and squeezed my hand tight. His breath tickled the skin on my neck and I shifted my head to rest against his.

"Did you…did you kill Kitty?" It was a question I had been wanting to ask for a long time. The suspicion had always been in my mind, but there had never been an appropriate time to bring it up. Blaine squirmed slightly beside me.

"What do you want me to say?" He replied.

"I don't know." I didn't. Would I feel I owed Blaine anything if I discovered he had saved my life? Would I perhaps wonder if this were my body's way of compensating for the good deed?

"It was never intentional." Blaine continued, obviously deciding to answer me. "I had just gone looking for supplies. I'd heard the voices and shouts so figured there were tributes to kill and went to finish them off. But when I saw it was you…" He trailed off. So Kitty _had _been killed by Blaine. All that time I'd been wishing for an opportunity to kill him and he'd saved my life. This was all so strange, so unexpected. It didn't seem possible.

"Are you glad?" Blaine suddenly asked. I was caught off guard by the question, unable to process it for a few seconds.

"That what? You saved my life?"

"Yes." I turned my face to dig my nose into Blaine's hair, closing my eyes as I tried to think of other things. "Yes. I am."

* * *

As we set off from our makeshift camp by the tree, we walked differently now. Not one in front of the other, silent and concentrating, but side by side. Blaine wanted to hold my hand but I politely refused. The time for being lovers was over. We had to get back to the Games.

We trekked through the forest for a couple of hours. Blaine began to recognise parts of the surroundings and I saw the tension rise in his posture. It was easy to forget that he had once been the leader of the Careers. If they were baying for anyone's blood more than mine it was definitely his. I sensed his growing anxiety but said nothing – focusing on the task ahead. We would reach the base and scout it out – see who was there and who wasn't. Then, somehow, we would plan an attack.

"Are we close?" I asked, coming back into reality. Blaine nodded his head.

"Very. We used to come this route to do the perimeter check." A _perimeter check_. Like this was some kind of secret base. I almost scoffed, but realised this was bad taste, so simply nodded my head.

"We should probably get up into the trees to take a look." Signalling to a huge oak tree about 200m away from where we were standing Blaine looked at me and I nodded again. The realisation building that we were within spitting distance of the enemy, both of us tiptoed slowly to the tree and then began to climb it.


	25. The Hunting Of The Careers

**Chapter 25 - The Hunting Of The Careers**

My climbing had improved since mine and Blaine's first few days together. He was still a much swifter climber than me, so held out his hand to pull me up to the stronger branches. For a second I wondered if he'd ever been hiding in a tree watching me do something trivial, but I pushed that aside when we got high enough up and peeked through the foliage to see the base.

It was huge. I'd always imagined a large camp, with tents spread out around the food, but even so. It seemed an awful lot of space for only three people, although then again, there had used to be six.

"Woah." I breathed as we looked down. Blaine's expression was hard to gauge – he was obviously remembering the last time he had been here. The supplies had been piled up into a huge mound in the centre of the camp. From our distance it was hard to see what it contained, but there seemed to be a mixture of food and weapons. Piles of excess when others had to struggle with just a little. Around the pile were five tents. Sugar and Sebastian's had obviously been kept to use for something, but Blaine's had been burnt to a pile of ashes and metal. I knew it was his because when he saw it his face grimaced and I placed my hand over his for comfort.

"They really hate me." He whispered, sounding like he didn't like it.

"They hate me too." I replied, trying to reassure him. "And we hate them." We did. Well, I did anyway. My mission from day one had been to destroy the Careers – even before preserving my own life or even thinking about winning. Defeating them was as close as I could get to defeating the Games as a whole. Defeating them meant I had a chance to return to Mother, Stevie and Stacey.

"Where are they?" I asked, keeping my voice hushed. As much as I hated them – I wanted to see the faces of my enemies – check they were still here ready to be killed.

"They could be out on patrol." Blaine whispered in reply. "Or hunting." I guessed from the large amount of food lying around camp he didn't mean that kind of hunting. There were only seven of us left now – slim pickings. Suddenly it became hard to swallow.

"Can we…?" I had been about to ask another question when suddenly the sound of voices made us freeze. All three of the Careers suddenly appeared in the camp. The small blonde figure of Quinn arrived first, her movements quick and confident. I thought back to her expression in the bloodbath and wondered if she had looked like that again since. Next came the huge sight of Puck, and behind him Rachel. I couldn't tell which one it was, but one of them caused a reaction in Blaine.

"There's nothing to do round here anymore." Quinn complained, kicking over a bucket that had probably been used to collect rainwater.

"Sure there is." Puck replied, striding over and smiling.

"Yeah, if you like bench pressing for two hours." Rachel's response was sarcastic and the two girls laughed.

"Shut up. At least I find ways to amuse myself." The three Careers walked over to the supply pile, stopping by it and staring down.

"I'm hungry. Someone make me dinner." Puck said plainly. The words shocked me, not only for their bluntness.

"Get lost." Quinn replied. "Make your own dinner."

"Oh no, Puck _never_ makes his own dinner!" Suddenly rushing over the giant boy grabbed hold of Quinn and spun her around. She squealed and pretended to fight for a few seconds, before he dropped her down and they kissed.

"Is that real?" I asked Blaine, pointing to the couple. For a second he didn't know what I meant, but then he realised.

"No. Well I don't think so." It was hard to tell with the Games – everyone always constantly being on camera. Anyone could be pretending anything. As Puck and Quinn play fought Rachel started collecting together materials for a fire. I saw Blaine staring at her, venom in his eyes. I'd been right – people could very easily pretend. A few weeks ago I'd thought him and Rachel had been a couple. Now, that was clearly untrue. Suddenly he produced his bow from the sling on his back. Drawing the string, he pointed it at Rachel.

"I could kill her, right now." He whispered. The dark haired girl was still building her fire – oblivious to what was being aimed at her. "Just like that."

"Blaine!" I hissed, batting his bow away. For a second he looked annoyed, even angry, but I pushed it down so he couldn't raise it again.

"If you shoot her you give away our position. And you might not even hit her." I knew there was no way Blaine would miss – not after I had already seen him kill two people, but I was trying to get him to stop. Our plan would be ruined if he acted now. My deterrent worked.

"Sorry." Blaine mumbled. He placed his bow back in its sheath and I sighed inwardly with relief. Quinn and Puck had stopped their canoodling to go over and help Rachel now – they were safe.

"If we're gonna kill them," I said, turning away from the Careers and facing Blaine, conviction in my eyes, "we're gonna kill them _all_ together."

* * *

We couldn't risk a fire being so close to the Career base, even with my magical fire pit, so as the light drew in Blaine and I ate the last of our food and watched the sun go down. Not much had been said about an actual plan to destroy the Careers – I knew Blaine just wanted to kill them, but I was thinking about a more extensive plan, incase we didn't succeed. If we took out the supply pile, the Careers would have no food. That meant, if we didn't manage to finish them off in whatever battle that was inevitable to happen, they would probably die of hunger anyway. Fitting, in the Hunger Games. As I calculated the idea in my head, trying to work out how I could destroy at least a ton of food and supplies without being stopped, Blaine spoke again.

"Do you miss home?" The question made me stop.

"Of course." I replied. "Every day." There wasn't a minute that went by when I didn't think about my family – they were who I was fighting for after all. The sight of Stacey in the video cave had been a cruel reminder of how separated I was from them, how powerless they were to help me.

"What about you?" Blaine shrugged.

"I think about my mother." The response was strange. There must be some kind of issue there. Daddy problems. Maybe that was why Blaine was so desperate to connect to me. He needed to be loved. Spitting out a raspberry seed I ran my fingers through my hair, wishing there was some way I could have a shower.

"Did they tell you to act like that? In the build up?" Blaine's eyes flashed to mine and for a second there was something in them that confused me.

"What do you mean?"

"When we did the interviews. Did they tell you to act that way?" I was trying not to call him a jerk, although it was pretty obvious that was what I was thinking.

"No." He replied swiftly, his voice suddenly void of any emotion. "That was just me." I was startled. Part of me wanted to ask more, but Blaine seemed not to want to respond. Lying down on the hard ground I stared up into the sky and thought of my time before the arena.

* * *

I lay on the metal table trying not to feel awkward. Cinna was looking at some pieces of clothing – his inspection of them far too thorough to be totally normal, so I decided to strike up a conversation to change the mood.

"So how did you get this job?" My stylist turned around and smiled at me.

"As a stylist?"

"Yeah." Dropping the sleeve he had been holding Cinna took a few paces forward to stand beside me.

"Well firstly I had to train."

"Where?"

"At college." My eyes widened. _College_?

"Yes, there are colleges in the Capitol." The fact I obviously thought this wasn't possible amused Cinna immensely. "Not all of us are aliens."

"Are you sure about that." I replied, my tone dubious.

"Well the small few of us banded together. Once you graduated then there were roads to go down, avenues to take. It takes a lot of work to be selected for something like this."

"An _honour_." How ridiculous. Primping and dressing children that are going to die in a matter of days. How could that be something to strive for?

"Precisely."

"And you get lumbered with District 12." I lolled my head to the side, beginning to wish this could be over and done with and I could return to the home building. Maybe Tin and I could discuss tactics for the procession. Cinna walked swiftly back over to the costumes, picking one off the rail and then turning to me, matter-of-factly.

"Actually," he said, holding the glimmering shirt up, "I asked for District 12."

* * *

"What are you thinking about?" Suddenly I was brought back to reality by Blaine's voice. It was hard to see in the now very dim light, but he was sitting beside me, his hand resting on my arm. He seemed repentant.

"Oh, just Cinna." I replied. It was cold and I was beginning to shiver, so I tugged on his arm and he settled down beside me, moulding our bodies together.

"Whose Cinna?" Blaine asked once he had settled his nose into the crook of my neck. His hands gripped onto my shirt and it felt very much like he wouldn't ever let go.

"He was my stylist." I replied, filling him in. Blaine immediately flicked his head up. His expression had dropped and his eyes looked concerned.

"He was?" Jeez – this _already_?

"Yes. A great _friend_ of mine." Highlighting the word, and nudging my friend as I did so, he blushed and I shook my head, pretending not to notice. As I leant forward to press a soft kiss to his lips I felt his posture relax slightly and his grip on my shirt lessen. The realisation that Blaine was capable of being _jealous_ already set me off edge a bit, but I wasn't going to let it spoil my fun. Pressing my forehead to his I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

We were awoken abruptly by a loud booming announcement.

"Tributes of the 74th Hunger Games!" The voice of Claudius Templesmith echoed out over the arena. Blaine and I stirred, our bodies intertwined with each other's. "Congratulations on making it this far. There are seven tributes that remain." As I stretched my arms and went to roll away, Blaine subconsciously pulled me closer again, his eyes still closed. "To celebrate this, the Gamemakers have organised a feast to be held at the cornucopia at precisely 1pm this afternoon." Immediately I awoke fully.

"Blaine!" Sitting up and shaking my friend awake, ignoring his groans and hands pawing at my legs, my voice was animated and excited.

"What, Sam." Blaine murmured in reply, still not fully conscious.

"Did you hear that? There's going to be a feast!" This was just what we needed. The final piece of our Career destroying plan. Blaine still didn't know what I was talking about. He rose to a sitting position and rubbed his face, his hair sticking up in a rather adorable way. For a second I was almost distracted.

"Are we going?" He asked.

"No you idiot! Of course not! But who _will _be?" Suddenly it clicked. Blaine's eyes opened wide.

"Of course." The Careers would be. Obviously there was no need for any of them to actually feed – they had their own feast piled up in a tower in the centre of their camp. But they would go to find the other tributes. They would go to kill.

"No-one will want to miss out, If they leave their camp unattended we can sneak in and destroy it. We can destroy it all." Blaine looked excited, his eyes alive with the prospect of winning, of defeating our enemies without them even realising what was happening.

"That's brilliant!" He said. It was. But it hadn't been just me that had created it. The Gamemakers had helped too.

* * *

For the next hour of so we launched into action. All our resources were pooled together, food, weapons, ideas. We discussed different strategies, although Blaine was reluctant to choose any that involved us splitting up.

"You can't always protect me Blaine." I said, getting a little annoyed. "And I can fend for myself."

"I know." He replied a little morosely. I saw him staring longingly at my hand but ignored it. We needed to be focusing on the raid.

We decided on a two-pronged attack that would start with us entering together and assessing the situation, before splitting up and taking different areas of the base. Blaine would go around the tents checking for any people and stealing any interesting things we might need – and I would look to destroy the supply pile. Blaine had picked up Artie's taser all those days ago and I was going to try and use it to spark some kind of fire. If that failed, I would just smash everything to pieces with my mace. We had no idea what time it was, but glancing up at the sky saw that the Gamemakers had helpfully provided a huge clock that stretched across the roof of the arena. So considerate. I could feel my heart beginning to quicken with just the thought of our plan. This was the first time I had staged any kind of attack, instead of simply defending myself or other people. The realisation that I might kill someone, in a fully conscious not-crazy way, was a little scary, but I was prepared for it. I was prepared to fight.

* * *

As 1 o'clock drew nearer Blaine and I gathered up our things. Blaine's mood was more serious now – he had finally dropped the lovesick puppy thing and was concentrating on his task. I was quite glad he had chosen to side with me now – I definitely could not have done this on my own. And his knowledge of our enemy had been valuable. We actually had a chance.

"Are you ready?" He asked, once I had stored my backpack deep inside the boxwood bush. I had only my mace and the taser in my hands, two throwing knives and my own one tucked into my belt.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied.


	26. The Result Of The Feast

_Hey guys! _

_So sorry about the delay in posting this chapter - I have had a manic couple of days with people staying at my house so I had no time for using the computer! I should be back to regular updates now :D_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 26 - The Result Of The Feast**

We crept up towards the base. It was 12:55pm, so the Careers must have left for the feast now. I wondered if the other two remaining tributes were there yet too, and how long it would take them to die. Blaine lead the way, showing us the best path to take. Our footsteps were silent and I held my breath, not wanting to make any sound. When we reached the perimeter of the base he held up his hand, signalling for me to stop. Intent eyes scanned the area carefully, checking for any sound or disturbance. Then, we were off.

* * *

I scampered quickly into the base. It seemed strange with nobody inside it – eerily quiet. It was even stranger to be standing in it myself. This could have been my fate – this could have been where I had lived. Would Blaine have left me if _I _had been a Career? Would we have killed everyone in their sleep _together_? I pushed aside the thoughts and looked over at my friend. He was still checking the area, his whole posture tensed, ready to strike at any moment. I looked over in the direction of the supply mound and flicked the taser, checking it still worked.

"Ok, let's go." Watching him turn away and head for the tents, I immediately began to run towards my target. I was still keeping my movements quiet, just incase anybody else was still around and my heart was pounding in my chest from the adrenaline. When I reached the mound I looked up and saw how giant it actually was. The pile stretched up to nearly the height of a ceiling – how on earth was I going to destroy that? Looking around I tried to find something that would help me with my task. Amazingly, just out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a carton of lighter fluid. That must be what the Careers used to make their fires. My feet dashed over, excitement pooling in my gut. The carton was only three quarters full, but it would be enough to start a decent blaze. Picking it up, I ran back over to the pile and unscrewed the lid, pouring it round the edge of the mound evenly. This was too easy. The Careers arrogance and dependency on supplies would be their downfall. I wondered how Blaine was doing – whether he had found anything interesting to steal. We had agreed that he would meet me back at the pile once he was finished but I was anxious to see him again. I wanted him to be safe. Emptying the final dregs of the carton I threw it onto the mound, hoping the last bits still staining the insides would help the burning too. Then I felt for the taser.

Crap. Where was it? I'd had it in my belt – it must have fallen out when I'd been setting the fire out. Suddenly panicking I scanned the surrounding area, hoping to see it lying on the ground. Crap. I couldn't screw this up now, Blaine was depending on me. _I_ was depending on me. Still looking at the ground I ran round the circular structure of the pile, praying to find my essential tool again. I was so busy checking that I didn't notice the person coming the other way until I ran straight into them.

* * *

"Ow!" My sudden exclamation of pain was halted by the immediate realisation that someone was in front of me. Immediately I shot into position, grabbing a knife from my belt and holding it out, ready to strike. The person before me had done the same, body crouched and hands reaching forward, holding…my taser.

"Hey!" The word didn't communicate with my opponent – she stared forward, teeth bared ready to lunge forward. Her skin was an olive brown, marked by dirt and blood but still obviously tanned. Her long black hair flowed down below her shoulders but was matted with dirt and sweat. This was Santana, from District 10.

"Santana!" I said, relief washing over me, but knowing I was still very much in danger if I didn't act right. "I'm not going to harm you!" Santana stared back at me, obviously not trusting what I was saying. "What are you doing here?"

"Destroying the Career camp." She hissed in reply. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"The same thing." So we hadn't been the only ones to use the feast to our advantage. Had anybody actually shown up at the cornucopia? The Careers must have been pissed.

"That's _my_ taser." I continued, now feeling a little more confident that my life was going to be spared. We were on the same side after all. I held out my hand but Santana gripped hold of the contraption tightly, not wanting to let it go.

"It's mine now." She said menacingly. Fine, if she wanted to be like that, I wouldn't argue.

"You can set the fire then." I whispered in reply. "I poured the lighter fluid out onto the supplies. They should go up like a treat." Santana glanced over at the supply pile. The stench of lighter fluid was obvious, so she knew I wasn't lying. Turning ever so slightly towards the mound I saw her flicking at the taser button with her thumb. She was just about to set off a spark when Blaine suddenly appeared, a little breathless.

"Blaine!" I exclaimed. Happiness flowed through me over seeing him again and I rushed forward to meet him, before Santana suddenly lunged in front of me.

"Career!" She hissed, aiming the taser towards his face. I immediately shoved her out of the way, almost sending her tumbling to the floor.

"No!" I shouted. "Don't hurt him! He's with me!" My body had thrown itself in front of my friend, setting up a barrier between the two tributes. Blaine seemed a little shocked, but was happy I had saved his life.

"He's with _you_?" Santana asked incredulously. I nodded my head.

"Yes. He defected from the Careers three days ago. He killed District 4." She must have seen their faces on the screen, heard the two canons so close together. Finally the District 10 girl seemed to relent.

"I still wanna kill you, _District 1 boy_." She hissed acidly. Blaine seemed tense, but I squeezed his arm to show we were ok.

"Santana's here to destroy the base too." I explained quickly to my friend, knowing he would have no idea what was going on. "She's going to light the fire. What did you find in the tents?"

"Not much." Blaine replied, obviously going along with the idea. "I think we should leave though, something feels wrong. A few weapons have been left behind." Anxiety flashed through me. If Blaine thought something was up then we probably should leave.

"You ok to light the fire?" I asked Santana. It was strange, after nearly two weeks of the Games, that this was the first time we had met. Had she been alone all this time? How had she survived undetected? The dark-skinned girl nodded, and Blaine and I were just about to turn around and leave when somebody lunge out from behind a tent.

* * *

It was Quinn. Her teeth were bared and a large knife was clutched in her hand. As she launched forward Blaine and I immediately jumped to the side, causing her to go between us and towards Santana. The District 10 girl pushed the taser forward and zapped her – Quinn cried out in pain and tumbled to the floor. Wow. That thing had worked. For a second I didn't know what to do, the shock of events happening so quickly rendering me immobile. Then Quinn hauled herself to her feet again and called out in a loud voice.

"PUCK! RACHEL! THEY'RE HERE!" Spinning round she lashed out with her knife towards us. The movement caught me off guard and I felt it slash a deep mark into my face.

"Aah!" Blaine immediately leapt forward, bringing out his own knife and striking Quinn on the shoulder. As I watched the two fight, clutching my hand over my now bleeding face, I saw the speedily approaching figures of Puck and Rachel. Those two had obviously gone to the unsuccessful feast, but Quinn had stayed behind. Quinn had blown our cover.

"SET THE FIRE!" I screamed to Santana, seeing her standing helplessly by the pile, still in shock. As Puck and Rachel approached, looking more than a little angry, I let go of my face, gripping hold of my mace with bloody hands and getting ready to fight.

* * *

Rachel and Puck peeled off once they reached the clearing. Rachel headed straight to me, and Puck for Santana and the taser. My eyes were torn between the sight of Blaine fighting Quinn and my incoming attacker – I forced myself to look away only when I heard her scream reach my ears and flicked my head to see her only a metre away. Immediately I ducked. The throwing knife came whizzing over my head and then I stood back up to swing my mace at her. Rachel dodged out of the way, obviously a skilled fighter and then immediately retrieved another knife from her belt. The District 1 girl had a lot more skill and agility than me, but I had brute force. Swinging my mace again but missing hopelessly I realised this tactic wasn't going to work, so dropped it and instead brought out my faithful knife, just as Rachel stabbed hers into my leg. The pain was excruciating but I forced myself to go on, yanking the knife out and trying to ignore the warm trickle of blood across my skin. Now I had two knives I had an advantage, so lunged forwards and slashed at Rachel's face. She screamed out in pain but still waved her knife – the clash of metal on metal rang in my ears. We tried and failed to stab each other a few more times, both of us dripping blood, and then with one strike Rachel slightly lost her balance. I took the opportunity, stabbing her again and then knocking her knife out of her hand so I could push her to the floor and pin her down.

"So…" I said, my hands pushing down on hers and my legs pinning her down onto the floor, unable to move. "We finally meet in battle." Rachel squirmed underneath me like a little bug – I could feel her strength sapping away slowly. "All those things you said to Marley," I continued, cocking my head to the side, "about how you were going to _cut off her hair_…" Suddenly I reached out and grabbed a chunk of Rachel's long dark brown hair. She screamed but I slashed my knife and cut it off, throwing the discarded hair away onto the ground "…and _slit her throat_." Now my knife rested just under her chin. Rachel was shouting abuse at me but I ignored it. For a second I felt the anger brew inside me again – the anger that had caused me to flip and kill that District 8 boy. Here was somebody who deserved that anger.

"Well now I'm going to do the same thing to you." I said menacingly. "_For her_." As I went to slash my knife I heard a scream ring out. A high, piercing scream. But it wasn't Rachel.

* * *

Turning round, but still gripping hold of Rachel's hair with one hand and holding the knife to her throat with the other, I saw Santana backed up against the supply pile, Puck standing over her. He had his knife raised, ready to strike. Then, suddenly, another figure burst from the forest.

It was Finn. It was impossible to mistake his giant figure from anyone. He came hurtling into the clearing like freight train, baring forward until he crashed straight into Puck and knocked him flying. Puck smacked against the floor with a crack and I suspected he might have fractured something. Finn pinned him down and immediately began beating him with his fists. It didn't even look like he had any weapons. _He was fighting with brute force_. I knew I should probably help, or finish off my killing of Rachel, but it was impossible not to watch. Finn's face was etched with rage – he pounded his fist into Puck's face and the District 2 boy screamed out in pain. I saw him grappling for the sword that had been knocked out of his hand upon impact with the ground and felt my hands clench. Finn couldn't see it. He was so blinded by his rage that he couldn't see the weapon right beside him. Puck's strength was beginning to fail, blood flying everywhere from the endless hits to his face, but suddenly his hands found purchase on the sword hilt and he plunged the blade into Finn's side.

* * *

The District 10 boy howled out in pain. Using the momentary lapse in judgement, Puck pushed himself upwards, knocking Finn to the floor and then leaping on top of him, pulling the sword out and then stabbing him in the chest again. Santana screamed, rushing forward, but Finn cried out to stop her.

"NO SANTANA!" He shouted. "GO! ESCAPE!" The District 10 girl looked distraught – for a second I thought she might fight but then she sped off into the trees. Puck stabbed Finn over and over again, the gurgle of blood in his throat horrible to hear. I turned my head away, only to see Rachel had passed out underneath me. Her wounds were pretty severe, so I figured she had probably bled out, and was going to make sure of her death when suddenly I saw a box of matches lying by her head. Santana had taken the taser, if she still had it at all. This could be my last chance to set the fire. Grabbing the box I left the body of Rachel behind and ran towards the supply mound. A canon sounded out and I realised Finn was dead. The boy the Careers had wanted to join them – killed by them, saving another. I was metres away, just about to strike the match, when Puck jumped up, teeth bared at me.

* * *

"WAIT!" I had expected to die, to have a sword plunged into my stomach the same way Finn had, but then a shout rang out from across the clearing. Blaine was standing up, holding the struggling body of Quinn against him, a knife held over her throat.

"If you touch Sam, Quinn gets it!" He shouted. Quinn looked to be severely injured – several deep gashes in her arms and legs. Blaine looked hurt too, but not to the same degree. I looked at Puck again – his whole body stained red with his own and Finn's blood. It was a horrific sight – death and pain everywhere.

"Did you hear me?" Blaine shouted again. "I'LL KILL HER!" Quinn was struggling, her mouth letting out little anguished shouts as her legs and arms flailed to hit against Blaine. Puck seemed to dither, looking between me and Quinn. For a horrible second I thought he didn't care.

"If you _really_ love her – you'll save her." Suddenly Blaine spoke again, and this was the ticket. Neither of us believed the fabricated romance between the two District 2 tributes – but the public did. If Puck let Quinn die now he would lose a ton of supporters, and potentially sponsors. Dropping his sword to the floor he looked at me with disdain.

"Go, you little vermin." I didn't have to be told twice. My feet sprinted towards the forest, desperate to get away to safety. But not before I threw the burning match I had managed to light onto the lighting fluid covered supply pile.


	27. The Building Of A New Alliance

**Chapter 27 - The Building Of A New Alliance**

I wasn't sure if there was an explosion, but I heard the sounds of screams and shouts. The pounding of my feet filled my head, along with my rapidly beating heart, and I stumbled through the undergrowth for a good minute or so before I finally stopped and steadied myself. My head felt woozy – reaching up to touch it I realised my face wound was still leaking a lot of blood. The stabbing pain in my leg reminded me of my injury there too, and I suddenly wanted Blaine.

"Blaine!" I shouted. "Blaine where are you?" Suddenly a figure appeared running towards me.

"Sam! I'm here!" Our bodies slammed together, arms wrapping round each other in sheer joy.

"Oh my God." Blaine exclaimed. "We did it!" We had done it. We had destroyed the Careers supply store, or most of it. And Blaine was still alive. I had to admit, I was happiest about that. Feeling lips press against mine I kissed Blaine back, feeling tears roll down his face and then pulled back to see him staring at me with joy and love.

"I thought he was going to kill you." He said, referring back to Puck by the mound. I thought he had been about to too, but Blaine had saved the day. He had saved me yet again.

"But you saved me." I replied, holding his face with both hands and smiling. For a second we stared at each other – the sound of burning and screaming fading away into the distance. Then I snapped back into reality.

"Come on, we need to get as far away from here as possible."

* * *

The two of us stumbled through the trees – not really knowing where we were going but following my advice. My strength was beginning to wane, so I was glad when we stopped, only to see it was because Blaine had spotted a body lying hunched and convulsing on the ground. As we went over we saw it was Santana.

"Santana?" I asked. She groaned, rolling over so we could see a deep wound in her abdomen.

"Help me!" She screamed. "HELP ME!" Immediately bending down Blaine and I picked her up, one arm each, and dragged her forward away from the camp. When we reached a fairly big clearing we laid her on the floor. Blaine immediately went to get some leaves, leaving me with her screaming body. As I stared down at her, watching her face convulse as the blood streamed from her body, I suddenly felt a wave of nausea wash over me. Trying to grip onto a tree for support, I missed and tumbled to the ground.

* * *

When I awoke Blaine was crouched over me, dabbing something onto my face As soon as he saw my eyes flicker open his face lit up.

"Sam!" I smiled, glad to see his face again, but then suddenly realised how I was sat. My back was propped up against a tree, Blaine was sat in my lap and had his legs straddling mine. It was a rather compromising situation.

"Blaine." I replied, half in response to his exclamation and half in an exasperated sigh. As he brought away the moss he had been using to dab at my face I saw it was stained with red.

"Your bleeding has almost stopped now." He said, speaking like a doctor addressing his patient. I brought my fingers up to my cheek and felt a big deep welt.

"Woah." Blaine nodded and I ran my finger down the wound, before suddenly remembering the other person with us.

"Why aren't you helping Santana? She has worse injuries than me." Looking to my right I craned my neck to see a girls body but Blaine seemed reluctant to let me see.

"She's fine. Her wound wasn't critical and someone sent her medicine anyway." As I finally spotted Santana I saw her sitting upright, a huge bandage wrapped around her waist. Wow. Someone had been generous. It had been so long since I'd received a package from Haymitch that I'd almost forgotten there were sponsors. I supposed I hadn't really needed them. Blaine hadn't received any either – but I figured that was because he was probably the most hated person in District 1 right now – not their hero.

"She still needs attention." I said, not wanting to endanger her life any further.

"Well I…" Blaine trailed off, letting his hand run gently down my arm and I realised. Santana could be on deaths door and Blaine would still tend to me first. I was the only thing that mattered to him.

"Are you two, _together_?" Suddenly a voice rang out. Santana had obviously regained most of her strength, because the snarky tone I had first heard upon meeting her was back. Blaine turned his head to shoot her a glare.

"_We might be_." I felt a little trapped – Blaine's body stopping from moving and his words sounding rather like a protective girlfriend.

"Wow – _really_?" Santana laughed. I suppose it was a little ridiculous – two tributes from rival districts, finding love. It was like we were in some kind of rom com. Except this was real life, and there was nothing funny about the Games.

"Blaine." I whispered, trying to talk to him but not wanting to embarrass him in front of Santana. "You're kind of squishing me."

"Oh." My friend immediately pushed himself back – at which point he sat on my leg wound and I cried out in pain.

"Crap! Ok, sorry." Lifting his whole body upwards he burbled apologetically. I waved my hand to show it was ok, and then dragged myself over to sit next to Santana.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" I asked. The District 10 girl snorted.

"Like someone stabbed me in the gut with a sword." I hadn't realised Puck had injured Santana before he'd tried to kill her. It was amazing she'd been able to run away at all – although I suppose I had managed it too. Suddenly the memories of what had happened at the base came flooding back – the fight, pinning Rachel to the floor, cutting off her hair, the steaming freight train from the forest.

"Finn."

"Don't talk to me about Finn." Santana said, suddenly shutting off. I hadn't even realised I'd spoken the name, but saying it brought that part back too. The way he had shoved Puck off Santana, his fist pounding into his face, the gurgle of blood in his throat.

"Were you and him allied?" I asked. Santana shook her head.

"No. I said I didn't want to work with anyone. I _said_ I didn't want him. But he followed me anyway." It was strange. Finn's whole demeanour, his look, exuded power. He didn't look like he needed anyone to survive. But in reality he had followed Santana like a little lost puppy. I had seen it in the training arena.

"I think he liked you." I said, nudging her lightly.

"Well he shouldn't have." Santana replied. "Now he's dead." I knew how she felt. The guilt over someone else's death – feeling like you killed them…

"It happened to me too." I said suddenly, causing her to look at me in confusion.

"What?"

"Someone died saving me, and another tribute. There was nothing I could do to stop it. And then Marley died too." I realised I had said her name, but then realised I didn't really care anymore. Despite Santana's prickly nature, I felt like I could trust her.

"That sucks." Santana replied, picking up a twig and pinging it away from her. I saw her wince slightly at the twinge in her stomach, but didn't say anything.

"So I know how you feel. And how important it is to get a little help sometimes." I was shot with a sarky look. Even before the games, I couldn't imagine the District 10 girl having help from anyone.

"Why do you stay with him?" Suddenly the conversation was changed. Santana motioned with her hand towards Blaine, who was collecting some more moss, obviously for my head. He was trying not to make it obvious, but he was watching our conversation intently.

"He saved my life. Several times." I replied, knowing it was true.

"He seems like an idiot." Santana replied. I laughed.

"I thought that too, at first. But there's something endearing about him, once you get to know him…" As I trailed off, I realised a happy look had spread across my face, almost a smitten one. Quickly I removed it. "And he saved your life too."

"Barely." Santana replied, scoffing. "As soon as you collapsed he couldn't give a crap about me." So I had been right. Blaine picked up the last bit of moss, his hands now full, and began to walk back towards us.

"He has a huge thing for you." Santana continued, leaning in so he couldn't lip-read us. "Like seriously, _huge_."

"I know." I replied, sighing.

"Do you? Have a thing for him?" For a second I struggled to answer – a thousand responses bouncing round in my head. Then I replied.

"I think so."

* * *

Blaine closed the last few steps between us. He sat down next to me happily and began wetting a bit of moss with his water container.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" He asked cheerfully.

"Oh as if you weren't listening to everything we were saying you creepy weirdo." Santana replied scathingly. The response was so unexpected that Blaine reeled back and I almost laughed, but managed to hold it in.

"You know the only thing keeping me from killing you is Sam, _Career_." She continued, snatching the water bottle away from his grasp and taking a huge swig from it, spitting it back out onto the ground so we could see a faint trace of blood. For a second I wondered how she knew my name, then realised she had probably heard Blaine say it countless times, or read it on my name tag. As Blaine looked hurt and I shrugged my shoulders, trying to give him a comforting look, I realised we had inadvertently added someone to our team.

* * *

"We need to destroy the Careers." Both Santana and Blaine looked at me in confusion.

"We _did_ destroy them." Blaine replied. "We cut off their food supply."

"Which is why they'll be weak and a perfect target for us to _really_ kill them." I was still a little annoyed that despite our success with the supply pile, none of the Careers had died in our encounter. Seeing the death recap in the evening had shown only Finn's face, so I realised Rachel had survived her blackout. I was angry at myself for not finishing her off, and angry at Blaine for not killing Quinn – even though he had spared her to save my life.

"You're injured." Blaine replied again. His protectiveness was back with full force. "You can't fight anybody."

"I can try." I said.

"What's wrong Blainey? Having second thoughts about killing your Career pals?" Santana retorted. Immediately Blaine lunged towards her, but I grabbed his arm to hold him back, making myself wince so he immediately stopped. "Well I'm in." She continued, smirking with satisfaction. "They nearly killed me. I've got more reason than all of you to want them dead." A part of me didn't agree with the statement, but I had an ally, so wasn't about to argue.

"See?" I said, pointing at my friend. It seemed bad to rally against Blaine like this, but he couldn't shield me from battle. Not when we had the advantage.

"I don't like this." Blaine muttered, looking annoyed. "You saw what happened to Finn."

"Finn was stupid." Santana replied. "He ran in without any weapons. _We_ won't be so careless."

"Wait, _we_?" Suddenly Blaine sounded awfully like I had when we had first met. "Who said anything about _we_?"

"Well me, Sam, and you, if we _have_ to." Blaine looked horrified, like she had suggested we eat his arm for dinner.

"We are _not_ forming an alliance!"

"Blaine this makes sense." I replied, trying to stop myself from laughing at the hilarity of the situation. "Santana is on our side – she wants the Careers dead as much as we do. We would be silly to turn her help away."

"I thought you didn't run with people?" Blaine said sarkily to the District 10 girl.

"Well, if you two want to be my followers, I can't say no to that." Suddenly my friend rose abruptly to his feet.

"Sam, can I talk to you for a second please?" He asked curtly. "_Alone_." I shot a look at Santana, who pulled a mock haughty face and then hauled myself to my feet, letting Blaine help me over to behind a nearby tree.

* * *

"You can't be serious about this Santana thing." Blaine said once we were out of sight and earshot.

"Why not?" I replied. "She can help us."

"But we don't _need_ her help. She's rude and selfish and crude…and she's mean to me." I chuckled, bringing a hand up to Blaine's face but seeing him bat it away.

"She is a bit of a character."

"I can't stand to be around her, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me either. This isn't going to work." I sighed, wondering how I was going to solve the situation. Blaine was staring at the ground with sulking eyes and he looked completely adorable.

"Maybe she…" I began, trying desperately to think of something Blaine would respond to "…feels threatened." Hazel eyes flicked to mine.

"What?"

"She feels threatened…because of the way you fought in the Career base." I had found something Blaine could believe, but needed to make sure I sealed the deal. "How you pinned Quinn with barely a scratch on you. How you risked your life to save mine…" As I'd been speaking I'd brought my hand up to caress Blaine's face. This time he hadn't pushed me away, staring into my eyes and melting against my touch. I'd pulled him a little closer and ghosted my lips over his as I talked about his sacrifice for me.

"My hero." Reaching forward to kiss him Blaine's lips met mine emphatically – kissing me deeply and passionately. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and let him do the same, for a minute or so kissing away the pain of my wounds. Was I manipulating him? Of course Santana didn't think any of these things – but we all needed to work together. We couldn't afford for personal differences to get in the way of our goal – I was doing this for Blaine too. And the method I had chosen wasn't exactly unpleasant for both of us either. When we finally broke away Blaine was panting – his face flushed and his lips slightly swollen.

"So…" I said, trying to get my own breath back and smiling at the pleasure I felt. "Will you do this…for me?"

"Of course." Blaine replied, before kissing me one final time.

* * *

When we arrived back at the camp Santana raised an eyebrow at us. My hair was a little ruffled so I patted it down and realised Blaine's face was still quite pink from the exertion.

"Did you guys sort everything out?" She asked, meaning hidden in her tone.

"Yes". I replied with a smile. "We will be your followers."

"Excellent." She threw another stick into the fire and looked over at Blaine. "I don't think we need any more wood for this fire Blaine – seems like you have plenty."


	28. The Setting Of The Trap

**Chapter 28 - The Setting Of The Trap**

We were unsure how to set about with our new Career destroying plan. Obviously we didn't really want another fight – Santana's medicine had worked well and she had even given some to me, but we were still not up to our full strength. But that meant neither were the Careers. I was keen to set the ball rolling, so bagered my two allies for ideas.

"Could we poison the river?"

"Careers don't use rivers."

"They do now – their water supply is gone."

"Well surely that screws us over if we want to use it?"

"Good point. What about luring them into a trap?"

"That will just end up in a fight. We can't afford to engage in full on combat right now." I huffed. How on earth were we going to do this?

"I still think this is a bad idea." Blaine murmured. He had been my doting nurse for the past 24 hours – I was pretty sure he would be happy to do this for the rest of the Games. But I was nearly fit again, and bored.

"Well you're the only one who thinks that so I suggest you keep quiet and dab your boyfriend's wounds." Santana's scathing retort made a smile threaten to creep across my face, so I screwed it up and pretended I was in pain so Blaine gripped hold of my hand and I rubbed his fingers with mine.

* * *

Eventually we decided on a scouting mission to figure out how decimated our enemies were. Santana was still too injured to come with us so Blaine would lead the mission and I forced myself to be his accomplice. As we took the short walk to the look out tree we had climbed before the feast I could tell my friend was relieved to be away from our new recruit.

"I don't know how you put up with her." He murmured, lowering his voice as we drew nearer. I smiled, keeping step with him and looking up at the tree.

"She doesn't know how I put up with you." Blaine's face turned to look at mine, his expression hurt. I simply locked our eyes and smiled. "I do," The District 1 boy's face relaxed – his mouth drew into a big smile but instead of offering the kiss I assumed he would, he gripped hold of the first tree branch with his arms and began to climb up.

* * *

I was slower than my completely able friend, so had only scaled the first few rungs of the tree when Blaine reached the top. He signalled for me to stay there and looked out at the camp.

"What can you see?" I whispered.

"Not much." Blaine replied. "There doesn't seem to be anyone there." A shiver of fear ran through me. What if the Careers had left? Packed up and gone somewhere else? What if we had missed our chance to destroy them?

"Wait!" Suddenly Blaine's voice became animated again. He fell silent and I kept my body as still as possible, not wanting to make any noise even though I knew we were too far away to really be heard.

* * *

After five minutes Blaine climbed down to meet me. He settled himself on a branch and I waited for him to relay his findings.

"Quinn is still badly hurt." He said, looking quite happy with the information. "They're looking after her. A sponsor seems to have given them medicine but they look hungry. The food supplies are completely destroyed." Excellent. At least most of our original plan had worked. I racked my brains, trying to come up with an idea.

"We could use Quinn's injury to our advantage – offer them something to help her…" Both of us had already seen that Puck was forced to protect his district partner to keep himself alive, so he wouldn't be able to refuse aid – even if it did come from us.

"Then we could get close enough to see their weakness and…" Suddenly it all clicked. I gripped hold of Blaine's arm, knowing I had devised our plan.

"Let's go and tell Santana."

* * *

It took less than an hour for our plan to begin moving. Santana agreed wholeheartedly with our idea and we discussed our tactics. We would have to split up for the first part so She took the side of the camp nearest to our base, with Blaine the furthest away and me in the middle. As we set off Blaine seemed reluctant to leave me, but I simply nodded my head and he moved on through the forest.

* * *

This tree was harder to climb than the other – the branches were thinner and I had to gauge carefully whether they would be able to hold my weight before stepping on them. It wouldn't do our plan any favours if I went tumbling noisily to the ground. It seemed strange to be alone again after so long with somebody else – strange to be alone and in control of my emotions, but I pushed on until I reached a high enough point to see the base. From this angle I could see the smoking wreck of the supply pile directly – it really was disintegrated. Down at the bottom slightly to the left I could see a large circle of red still staining the ground, mixed with the blackened ashes of what had probably been Finn's body. How quickly had they removed him before the fire took hold? I hoped he was still recognisable – for his sake, his family's and Santana's. Shaking those thoughts away I scanned my eyes across the trees that surrounded the area to my left and right, squinting to try and pick out Blaine or Santana. I couldn't see anything, but figured that was probably better, as if meant the Careers wouldn't be able to see us either. I waited for the signal we had agreed would start our proceedings – three solid claps. When they came I braced myself and readied my voice.

* * *

"CAREERS!" Immediately Puck, Quinn and Rachel stopped what they were doing. It was satisfying to catch them by surprise – Puck jumped to his feet and quickly began trying to source out the location of the sound.

"We are still alive!" I continued, hoping my voice would hold out and still sound strong. "_All _of us!"

"You are struggling!" Now Santana took over the talking. Puck's whole body swivelled round as he became disorientated.

"We are offering you a one-time deal – a chance to receive our aid in return for something else!" Blaine's voice boomed out from my left hand side and now the Careers were completely confused. If we had all been in one place they would likely have tracked our location and our plan would be useless. This way we had them guessing constantly.

"Sam has found a Versipellis bush in the arena!" Santana continued. I wondered if the Careers would know what this meant, but Quinn immediately looked alert and I realised she did. "He can use it to get whatever medicine or food you desire!"

"Allow us to bring it to you and Quinn will be spared!" Puck suddenly seemed to gain strength. He stepped forward, unsure which direction to face so instead speaking up into the sky.

"And what do _we_ give _you_ in return?"

"In the final battle of the Games – you bring no weapons." My voice rang out and Puck scoffed. That had been Blaine's idea, and a great one at that. Take away another of the Careers' main sources of power.

"Do you accept?" Blaine asked, sounding impatient. Puck walked around for a while, pretending to dither. Whilst we waited I fixed my eyes on Rachel – seeing the huge chunks of hair missing from her scalp that I had chopped away.

"DO YOU ACCEPT?" Santana shouted. Puck finally replied.

"Yes." We had done it. The Careers had taken the bait. Trying not to celebrate too loudly I continued with my next passage of speech.

"We will meet you in the centre of the clearing in half an hour. Do not break your promise!"

* * *

As soon as we convened at our makeshift camp again all three of us were abuzz with chatter. Blaine and I shared a silent congratulations, relived to see each other again, and then Santana got down to the nitty gritty.

"So, the Versipellis bush is true?" I nodded my head, pointing to my bag full of supplies.

"Those prove it."

"But we don't have anything to cure Quinn?"

"No. But the Careers don't know that. We give them something poisonous, they eat it, they die. Simple." Santana nodded. It was a simple plan. I had imagined something more complex or violent would be needed to defeat the Careers, like our first plan. But sometimes something simple was all you needed.

"We don't even need to be there. We can just watch them die." It sounded cruel and callous, but I was kind of looking forward to it. These three humans had caused so much pain and suffering, not just of the tributes they had killed, but their families who had watched them die – their killers showing no remorse – that they deserved to be punished. And I would watch justice being served.

"I think someone should go down there." I'd thought the conversation had been over. The new tangent surprised me.

"What?"

"Someone should go down and give them the supplies." I turned to Blaine. He seemed a little surprised too, but wasn't as shocked with the idea as I was.

"Come on," Santana continued, "nobody's gonna believe it's not a trap if we just drop the food and run – they'll see right through it." She had a point. The Careers were only focused on one thing, but they weren't stupid. They had probably developed tactics of their own. "If someone goes and gives it to them, they'll believe us."

"You're sure about that?"

"If I were desperate I would." Blaine agreed. "And Quinn is. So Puck has to be too." The logic was undeniable. Also if somebody went down there too, somebody with a weapon – they could make sure the job was completed if the food didn't.

"Well who's going to do it then?" I suddenly felt a cold shudder of fear go through me as I realised that one of us would have to risk our lives. That one of us would have to walk right up to the enemy and hand them something without being killed. That it could be Blaine.

"I'll do it."


	29. The Beginning Of The End

_Penultimate chapter guys!_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 29 - The Beginning Of The End**

Santana had volunteered. For a split second relief washed over me – pure, selfish relief. But then I brought myself back to reality.

"Wait, we can't seriously do this." My hands had stretched out, like I was trying to mediate a fight. This was silly. Our plan would work – we didn't need to risk the life of someone for no reason.

"Yes we can. I want to go in." Santana seemed fixed on her idea. The bandage was still wrapped around her waist – surely she was still severely injured? The medicine couldn't work that quickly.

"You're injured! You don't need to risk your life any further!"

"I agree with Santana." Suddenly Blaine spoke out. He had kept quiet up until this point – perhaps worried I would volunteer or something, but now his words angered me.

"You _agree_? To Santana going right into the Career camp?" Blaine shrugged his shoulders.

"She wants to do it."

"That's right – I do." The District 10 girl seemed as shocked as I was that Blaine was supporting her, but she grabbed it with both hands. "And if baby-face Career boy agrees with me that makes it two to one." My hands shook with rage. I knew why Blaine was doing this. He wanted Santana out of the way. He had never liked her – and this would be an easy way to get her killed with no blood on his hands. How could he do that? How could he just nod and send her to her death?

"There must be another way." I said, desperately trying to think of an alternative. Santana shook her head.

"There isn't. I'll go in there, and stab Puck just like he stabbed me. It'll be my revenge." Slowly the realisation dawned on me that I had no other choice. There was no way in hell Blaine would let me volunteer to go in, and no way I would let him either. He had already risked enough for me – I wouldn't have him do it again. So that left only Santana.

"You're also assuming that this won't work Sam." Blaine said, reaching out to take hold of my hand but seeing me pull mine away. "_It will work_."

* * *

I was still reluctant, even as we walked back towards the camp. Santana was armed with our weapon – hackleberries. She would use them to blind Puck and Rachel, kill Quinn and then dispose of the others, or leave them to burn to death. It was a pretty good plan, certainly one with the element of surprise, and she had a determined look plastered across her face as she strode forward. I supposed it had been silly to suggest the Careers would just accept a 'gift' without suspecting anything. Maybe this was the only way.

When we reached the edge of the base Santana turned to look at us. I had expected her to look scared, or at least nervous, but she seemed confident and calm.

"So, you guys stay here." She said, as if she were a parent giving us instructions.

"We'll help you if you need it." I said, but she scoffed in response.

"I won't." Watching her stride off I suddenly felt worry race through me. Blaine gripped hold of my hand and I squeezed it tightly.

* * *

"You know I never would have let you do this." We were perched up in our tree – the same one we had used consistently, but at a lower level. Blaine was crouched behind me on the branch, his chest pressed against my back and an arm wrapped around my waist. I kept my eyes fixed on the clearing, where Santana was just about to appear, but leant back into his touch.

"I know." It was scary how much I knew about Blaine now – about how he reacted, how he felt, how much he cared about me. "I wouldn't have let you either." The District 1 boy dug his face into my neck and I sighed, bringing up a hand to stroke his hair. Maybe if this plan didn't work, we could just stay up here. Nobody would know where we were – we could just hide here and be safe. Both our hearts were racing but for the first time in a while my mind felt calm. Somehow something was telling me this was the last moment of peaceful closeness Blaine and I would share together.

* * *

Suddenly Santana appeared. I almost made a noise but managed to silence myself, my hand gripping into Blaine's hair so he looked up. She still seemed confident, no slowing her pace as she approached the camp. The Careers hadn't noticed her yet, but they were all there, waiting.

"Hey!" The harsh shout rang out and they all turned to look at her. It was funny how attached I had grown to Santana in no more than a few days. Everything about her screamed solidarity, walls built up that were hard to break down. But I knew all too well that it only took something special for everything to be realised – for a new side to be revealed. As she approached Puck smiled, but he stayed near Quinn. She really did look beat up – perhaps she would just die on her own.

"You have what we need?" Puck said. He was projecting his voice, perhaps because Santana was still a considerable distance away, perhaps for our benefit, perhaps for the cameras. But we could hear everything,

"Yes." Taking a few more steps forward Santana stopped about twenty metres from the Careers. Fear gripped hold of me, seeing her outnumbered three to one. But Quinn was injured, Rachel still not herself. The only thing Santana cared about was her and Puck.

"Let us see it." Complying to his instructions, Santana opened her hand to reveal the bag of hackleberries. They looked harmless, but she made sure not to put her skin anywhere near the tiny holes in the thin plastic.

"They're boison berries." She said, running with the script we had fabricated. "They heal any wound."

"And Sam is _sure_ of this?"

"You saw how long he spent in that plant section during training. _He's sure_."

"Why didn't he come himself?" Suddenly Rachel spoke. She didn't seem the same since our last encounter – everything about her was jittery, unstable. Blaine's grip around me tightened but I tried to ignore it, staring straight forward. I couldn't see Santana's face but it seemed like she smiled.

"I volunteered – a personal thing." Puck smiled back, getting the joke.

"Well hand them over."

"Only if you promise to hold up your side of the bargain." Puck lifted his head to the sky, shouting upwards.

"Gamemakers! Do you hear me? Destroy all our weapons for the final battle!" He brought his head back down, smiling smugly at Santana, and it was done. "Is that good enough for you?"

"Yes." We were set. The only thing left to do was make the exchange. This was where everything could go wrong. Santana had to act fast, keep her wits about her. I only hoped her wound had healed well enough to withstand the fight.

Taking a few more steps forward Santana suddenly started to look a little nervous. My hand gripped onto Blaine's – squeezing tightly so all the blood nearly drained out of it.

"Come on…" I whispered under my breath. "You can do this..." The gap closed further – she was ten metres away now. Puck opened his hand, waiting patiently for the gift that he didn't know would kill him. Ten metres became five, five became three, until finally Santana was right in front of the Careers. This was it.

"Use it wisely." She said, her voice strong and determined. Puck smiled widely.

"Oh, we will."

* * *

Suddenly a flurry of things happened. Santana had lifted her hand back, ready to project the berries forward towards Puck's face. Then all of a sudden Quinn had leapt to her feet, energy flowing through her veins. She grabbed hold of Santana's shoulders, Rachel jumping forward to pin down her feet, and Puck whipped out a knife from his back pocket.

"NO!" The shout spilt from my mouth – Blaine gripped hold of me but I knew he felt the same way, We had been tricked. Unable to control what I was doing I suddenly found myself scrabbling down branches towards the ground. Blaine shouted to stop me but I ignored him, hitting the ground with a thump and then hurtling towards the clearing.

* * *

When I reached it Santana was still in her trapped position. As Rachel saw me she went to leap up, fire in her eyes, but Santana moved to kick her legs so she was forced to stay holding her.

"SAM!" Santana screamed, desperately trying to break free. I went to move forward again but Puck held the knife up to her throat and stopped me.

"Come any closer and she dies!" I froze. My body was torn between two horrific emotions. Watching my friend die, or moving forward and risking killing her and myself. Santana's eyes were filled with something I had never seen in her before – in horror I realised it was fear.

"You thought you could _trick_ us?" Puck scoffed, almost sounding insulted. "That we would believe your _stupid little idea_?" He held the knife closer to Santana's throat. I saw her desperately struggling to breathe.

"You deserve to die."

"Don't touch her!" I shouted. All the Careers laughed.

"Little Sammy – where's your boyfriend to help you?" Quinn sneered. As if on cue Blaine appeared behind me, almost crashing into my body.

"Sam!" He said, gripping hold of my shoulders. "We have to run!"

"Glad you could join the party." Puck said, smiling. "We were just talking about how stupid you are."

"Sam!" I ignored the shouts in my ear, my eyes fixed on the terrified face of Santana. Was this how Marley had looked? Had they pinned her down and laughed before they killed her? I felt like I was going mad.

"Your buffoon of a district partner was the most stupid of them all though." Puck suddenly said, turning back to Santana so he could address her directly. "That's why he was so easy to kill." He pointed to something on his chest and Santana screamed. I couldn't see what it was but then he held her down again and she began to cry.

"Finn!" She cried. "Finn I'm so sorry!"

"It's a little too late for sorry now." Puck replied. And then he slit her throat.

* * *

Immediately my world collapsed yet again. Blaine gripped hold of me, trying to hold me up. Santana screamed, blood gurgling in her throat just as Finn's had. As she died Puck raised his arm up in celebration, the two girls whooping in response. Quinn was completely fit – she had acted well and lied to us. Rachel still seemed slightly damaged but she eyed the dying body with glee. I was beginning to feel my world going black – my body shutting down over the sight of another of my friends dying, when suddenly Puck picked up something from Santana's body. He stuck it to his chest and as he turned my way I saw it was her nametag. Now sitting next to the tags of four others. _The people he had killed_.

"AAAARGH!" Lunging forward I felt my vision going red. Blaine fastened his arms round me to stop me running but I fought against him, teeth snapping and bared. Puck had collected the tags of every tribute he had killed. He had _displayed_ them on his chest – like he was _proud_. He _was_ proud. Hearing my snarl the District 2 boy looked over and laughed.

"Wow – Someone's angry."

"YOU MONSTER!" I screamed, my rage spilling out of control, like it had after Marley had died. "_YOU MONSTER_!" I could feel Blaine's fingers digging into my waist – desperately trying to hold me as I thrashed and fought. Here was someone that deserved the death of the District 8 boy – someone who deserved to be ripped limb from limb. I would destroy him, I would annihilate him – then he would pay.

"Look at your boyfriend Blaine!" Quinn shouted, almost laughing at my rage. "He's a dog like you!"

"You could have been a part of this Sam!" Puck said, signalling to his troops. "You would have made a good addition to our team!"

"I HATE YOU!" I screamed. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" He smiled.

"Not if I kill you first."

* * *

Suddenly a noise sounded that made everything stop. A loud noise, that sounded abnormal at such a volume. Like it was normally small, a sound you heard in the corner of your mind, never really cared about.

Clicking.

Then the first fireball hit.


	30. The Finale Of The Games

_This is it guys - the final chapter!_

_Liz xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 30 - The Finale Of The Games**

Immediately everybody panicked. The explosion hadn't hit anybody but we knew where they were targeted. The base. The Gamemakers had kept to Puck's request and were now destroying every trace of the camp – including their weapons. Knowing we had to run I stilled my anger for Puck, gripping onto Blaine's hand and hurtling towards the forest.

* * *

The adrenalin pumping through my veins actually made me run faster – Blaine kept my pace and a million thoughts were running through my head. Was this the end now? Was the final battle finally here? I was trying to decide what to do, my hands fumbling for my knife in my pocket, trying to defend myself, when we suddenly came face to face with the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.

A giant pink bug.

* * *

My mind flicked back to the interviews. Being pushed out onto the stage – forced to fix everything to save the lives of 24 people. They had asked me about Tina's 'seizures' – and what had I said? Well – the Gamemakers certainly had a good memory.

The bug in front of us was a huge praying mantis – that explained the clicking from before. Its huge pincers snapped together and I almost screamed, before I realised no sound would come out. Turning to Blaine I saw his face white with fear – we both looked a each other and knew there was only one way to go.

To the cornucopia.

* * *

As our feet pounded across the ground I could hear the sound of the approaching bugs getting nearer. There must have been bees – the buzzing was unmistakeable. A giant pink centipede blocked our path one way so we were forced to detour, me hacking with my knife at a leg that almost touched me as we passed. The cornucopia was in sight between the trees – it seemed miles away but we kept on plugging forward, my lungs burning with each gasping breath. The blood in my head pumped so fast it almost clouded my vision but I kept on going and kept my hand clasped to Blaine's. We would not leave each other.

* * *

When we reached the open space of the original clearing I saw bugs descending on the space from everywhere. Even from a distance they seemed massive – giant woodlouse and dung beetles and ants. All of them seemed intent on heading towards us, so we dug our heels in and ran again. Blaine was heading towards the cornucopia itself, obviously hoping that we would have some kind of shelter there. It was our last chance – the forest was dead to us now. I thought about Santana's body – if she had already been squashed or if they were eating her, but pushed it away to concentrate on propelling myself forward. When we were within 100m I saw the figures of Puck, Quinn and Rachel reaching the cornucopia. Puck seemed to have taken a considerable bite to his shoulder but still managed to haul himself up the side of the structure. Were they climbing on the roof? As they scrabbled to pull themselves up Blaine tugged us in the other direction, heading towards the opposite side of the building. There was a giant spider only metres away – huge jaws opening ready to strike and incapacitate us. I screamed but we reached the building – Blaine jumped up, pulling me with him, and I let go of his hand to grip onto the metal tiles.

"SAM!" I could hear the spider behind me, the snapping of its jaws. Surely the cornucopia wouldn't protect us – surely the bugs would just climb up and devour us. I was about to give up, to let myself die, when arms suddenly yanked me forward and I tumbled forward onto the sloping roof. There was a strange sound, like something hitting an object and then rebounding. Turning round I saw the spider that had been about to kill me staggering backwards – there was a force field surrounding the cornucopia. Once you were inside it – nothing could harm you. If you were out of it…

"Blaine!" I suddenly said, panic ripping through me at the thought of him not being there. Then I realised he was above me – that he had been the one to pull me from the clutches of the spider. He had saved me again.

"I'm ok! I'm ok!" Blaine said back, almost unable to talk. For a second we lay there on the roof, exhausted and spent, but then we remembered the three other people on the other side.

"Come on, let's go."

* * *

The cornucopia roof tiles were surprisingly strong. From my spot on the starting podiums it had looked shiny and slippy – now it seemed rusty and easy to grip on. Maybe the arena had deteriorated like we had. As we ran up our side I wondered what would be there to greet us – if Puck would be waiting to give us a swift death. To be honest I welcomed it – this was the final battle after all. When we reached the top however there was nobody waiting for us. Puck and Quinn were the first ones I saw – fighting with each other. They didn't have any weapons but were beating each other to death with tiles they had ripped up from the roof – Puck's face was littered with slashes and Quinn's leg was gushing blood. They were screaming at each other – both completely wild. After all of their pretences – Puck's volunteering to protect the girl he 'couldn't live without', their doting interviews and the tears shed over their heartache – they were murdering each other. Quinn slashed Puck across the chest, screaming something I couldn't hear but sounded like final words. Then they both hurtled towards each other, bodies crunching together so violently that they lost their balance, tumbling down off the roof and through the force field. The pink bugs descended and the sound of ripping and tearing mixed with the screams, until two canons sounded.

* * *

Blaine and I turned to each other. For a second I suddenly doubted everything. Puck and Quinn had set up a lie – and obvious one, but not to the public. Careers were good at lying, They had shown that when they killed Santana. Had _Blaine_ been lying? It had been a good one – _very_ convincing – I had even started to join in with it myself. But had this just all been a rouse to gain my trust and then kill me? Blaine's whole body had tensed. I moved my hand towards my knife and he shouted out.

"Sam, no!" I was about to draw it out when suddenly another voice cause me to spin around. Rachel was staggering up the side of the roof. The bald patches on her head made her look deranged – she had a crazy look in her eyes and had also ripped up one of the tiles to use as a weapon. Blaine still had his bow and arrows strapped to his back – I was torn between defending myself from her and him. When she reached the top though, she looked at her District 1 partner instead of me.

"So Blaine…" she said, her voice drawled through her exhaustion. "This is the end."

"Sam, you don't have to worry." Blaine replied, for some reason completely ignoring what was happening and instead trying to convince me that I was going to be ok. "I promise I won't hurt you."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Rachel's shriek made us both bend down and cover our ears. Immediately I returned to my alert position again, her having passed me to stand face to face with her old ally. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH _HIM_?" A hand jerked out to point accusingly at me. I saw that her skin was shrivelled and rotting – obviously the medicine hadn't worked fast enough. She was deteriorating.

"YOU LEFT US! YOU LEFT US ALL BEHIND AND _KILLED_ SEB AND SUGAR. _FOR HIM_?"

"I didn't want to be a Career anymore." Blaine replied, surprisingly calm considering what he was facing. Every so often his eyes would flick to mine to see if I was ok, but I gave him nothing in response. "I wasn't meant to be one."

"OF COURSE YOU WERE! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WITH ME! WE'RE _ENGAGED _BLAINE!" The word hit me like a bullet. _Engaged_? Blaine and Rachel had been _engaged_? Blaine looked like he had been found out – the guilt in his gaze towards me made me speechless. Why had he not told me? How could he have left out such an important detail as _that_?"

"I never wanted to be engaged to you Rachel! I was_ forced_! I never loved you!" Suddenly it all clicked. The strangeness of the reaping, how it had seemed to be fixed, Blaine's smug smiles through training and interviews – the way he had looked at Rachel in the arena and almost been scared, scared that she would survive…

"You set it up." I said, causing Blaine to look at me and Rachel to stare wildly in my direction. "You set up the reaping so that both of you would get picked. So if you survived Rachel would be gone, and if she survived…" He would be dead. Blaine would rather have died than get married to someone he hadn't chosen.

My friend looked at me desperately – his mouth trying to say a thousand things but nothing coming out. Rachel turned back, her expression still wild.

"YOU SET THIS UP?" I wanted it not to be true – I wanted Blaine to say no so I could believe that his time with me had not all been a lie, a reason to escape. But he nodded his head. Rachel screamed, launching herself towards him, teeth bared. A bow and arrow was whipped out, something fired into the air. She tumbled to the ground and slid halfway down the cornucopia roof, an arrow embedded into her skull.

* * *

The arena was silent. Even the bugs had stopped making noise – Quinn and Puck completely devoured. Rachel's slumped and rotting body lay before us, the crazed look still in her eyes. An example of what the Games did to people, what they turned into.

I stepped backwards. Blaine looked broken, his whole posture slumping with desperation.

"You lied to me. I said plainly. His face crumbled.

"Yes." He replied, before immediately continued. "But only about that! Everything else was true!"

"All the things you told me? About caring about me? About how you felt towards the other Careers?"

"YES!" My mind was fighting itself. Every animal instinct inside of me told me to attack – Blaine was lying, he had been this whole time. He would kill me the second we got close. The other side of me – the human side – told me to believe him.

"Sam, you have to believe me – I did set up the reaping to get away from Rachel – I was miserable, I wanted to die. But then when I saw you on that screen…" His speech faltered, tears were pooling in his eyes. "It was like my life changed. Like I finally had something to dream about, to live for." The arena was still silent. I wondered what this looked like to the thousands of people watching – if they were all glued to their seats. "I knew I had to keep up the act, I had to stay with the Careers for a while else they'd kill me. I checked the sky every night, praying not to see your face, wishing you had come with us. But then as soon as I knew I was safe, I broke free. I tried to kill them all for us but could only get two – I wanted to find you, to know you were safe. I was so worried you would be gone, that I would have failed to protect you. And then I found you…" Nothing made sense. My brain was muddled, unable to process anything that was being said. The tears on Blaine's face were dripping onto the floor – I realised I was crying too.

"If you think I'm lying – if you think I don't care about you – then you can kill me now. But I'm not going to hurt you." The bow and arrows were thrown over the edge of the cornucopia. The pink bugs stirred, but when they realised it was nothing edible, fell silent again. Blaine held out his arms, completely opening himself up to me. Had Blaine used me? Had I used Blaine? Had I fabricated feelings in my mind – made him believe I felt the same way so he would help me? Had I used him as a tool to help me survive? The two sides of me fought – screaming at each other so I was almost in pain. Then I dropped my knife and ran forward.

* * *

Our bodies slammed together, Blaine wrapping his arms around me and digging his face into my shoulder. I did the same, feeling my body shaking as I sobbed. Relief washed over me, relief and comfort. For a few seconds we stayed like that, not saying anything, just gripping onto each other. Then Blaine pulled away and took hold of my face, kissing me deeply. I responded, squeezing out every last piece of energy I had to kiss him back. How could I ever have doubted him. He was right here, with me. He had always been.

* * *

When we broke away I realised how exhausted we both were. We could barely stand, so slumped to the floor, still clasped onto each other. I pressed my forehead to Blaine's, not wanting to lose contact with him ever again.

"Blaine..." I whispered.

"Sam…" He replied. "Sam I…"

"I'm sorry." I said suddenly, feeling like I was going to cry again.

"For what?" Blaine asked, hand cupping my face.

"For doubting you." Suddenly the sounds of speakers crackling filled the arena. We both looked up, expecting to see the face of some Capitol official.

"Congratulations Sam and Blaine." Claudius Templesmith said cheerily, his voice echoing around us. "You are the final two remaining tributes in the 74th Hunger Games." This was strange. The announcer only usually addressed the final winning tribute. For a second I wondered if there was about to be a rule change, if somehow someone had spoken down from the heavens and saved us both.

"But remember," he continued, still sounding cheerful, "there can only be one winner!" The realisation hit. They weren't helping us. They were reminding us. One of us still had to die.

The Gamemakers had probably expected one of us to kill the other right now – I assumed they'd thought my rage over being lied to by Blaine would have driven me to drive a knife through his heart, or Blaine would finally have revealed his true colours and I would have joined Rachel strewn on the side of roof. But we were both still here.

* * *

I looked over at Blaine to see him staring at me desperately. I didn't want to die. I hadn't from the moment I had been selected. My interview at the stadium had been all about surviving – doing it for my family. My family who were watching me right now. Was Mother baying for Blaine's blood? Was Stacey screaming for me to stab him? I was the only one with a weapon now – it being behind me, but still. It would take two seconds to grab it. But I didn't want to kill Blaine. I didn't want anyone to kill him. I didn't want him to die.

"Sam…" Blaine said. For a second I thought he was begging me not to kill him, but then I saw his hand reach to rip up a roof tile and realised what he was doing.

"NO!" Knocking his hand away the tile went skittering down, almost falling off the roof. Blaine shook his head.

"I have to do this Sam."

"No you don't! All you ever did was protect me! I will _not_ have you do it again!"

"You can't die Sam! I won't let you _die_!"

"What did I ever do for you? I didn't help you at all! Let me do this one thing for you!" I grabbed hold of my own tile, suddenly resolving to kill myself, to end the misery that my life had become, that the Games had created. Blaine grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"Oh but _Sam_." He said, his voice gentle and soft. "You _did_ do something for me." Shuffling forward he cupped my chin with his hand, brushing away the dirt that had ingrained itself there, a smile forming on his lips. "You taught me how to live again... You taught me how to trust, how to care about someone, how to feel like someone cared about you..." As he stared at me with emotional, caring eyes I felt my bottom lip trembling and his fingers ghost across it. "You taught me how to _love_." Our lips met. It was a chaste kiss, nothing like the ones we had had before in the heat of the moment. But it was filled with more love than you could ever imagine.

"Blaine I…" I went to reply, before a choked sound filled my ears and I was paralyzed. During our kiss, without me even noticing, Blaine had gently removed the roof tile from my hand, brought it towards his chest, and stabbed himself in the heart.

* * *

My world imploded. Blaine fell backwards, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, and I lurched out to catch him, pulling his body in towards me.

"BLAINE!" His eyes returned, focusing on me. A smile crept onto his lips and he lifted his hand up weakly to touch my face.

"Sam…" He whispered, his voice faint. I was losing him.

"BLAINE!" I screamed. My head jerked up towards the sky, searching for a camera. "DO SOMETHING HAYMITCH! _DO SOMETHING!_" It was too late for a sponsor package now. Blaine's body shuddered in my arms – I clutched him to me, just like I had done with Marley, powerless to stop anything. My own body shook with sobs, tears falling down like a river and screams spilling from my mouth. I felt Blaine trying to talk, trying to comfort me – even in his dying seconds. Then he went still and the canon sounded.

* * *

"Congratulations, Sam Evans!"

The whirr of hovercraft was suddenly above me. I looked up and screamed, seeing ladders descend down with people hanging onto them. The wind blew around us, me and the dead body of Blaine – the one person I had cared about more than anybody else in the world. As the ladders touched the cornucopia roof the people jumped down and headed towards me – they wanted to separate me and Blaine.

"NO!" I screamed, clutching Blaine tighter and shielding us against them. "_NO!_" Hands gripped hold of my arms, fingers trying to pry mine away from Blaine. I screamed and fought – my last fight in the arena – but I was exhausted so they overpowered me quickly. As Blaine's limp body was taken away from me I screamed louder, my body convulsing with grief. I suddenly went to grab my own roof tile but more hands hauled me upwards and forced me to grip onto the ladder, where I froze in the hovercraft light.

It felt like a nightmare. The limp, lifeless body of Blaine rose up into the air - like he was being taken to heaven. As I watched him go it felt like my soul was being ripped out of my body, that I would never fully be myself again. The people around me acted as if nothing had happened, signalling up to the control hovercraft and then waiting for me to be lifted up as well.

"Poor guy." One of the men said, speaking to his friend as I self-destructed in the frozen coma I had been forced into. "He won these Hunger Games by caring."

He was right. I _had_ won the Games by caring.

**I was the victor of the 74****th**** Hunger Games.**

* * *

The End

* * *

_What a ride. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that has read, commented on and supported this story. It has been my first crossover fic, and I am immensely proud of it. All the positive feedback has only made it even more clear that this is the avenue I would like my writing to go down._

_But the story is not over. I am already 5 chapters into a sequel - I will being posting it very soon. For this I need your help._

_I have already come up with several original characters, but am leaving a few to you guys. Who do you think deserves to be in the story? They can be from any District - preferably a past winner of the Games. If I like any of your suggestions they will be included in the plot._

_Many thanks again, I love you all!_

_Liz xxx_


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